Mistakes and Mochi
by keikopanda102
Summary: Her death takes everyone by surprise, but the one thing Sasuke never expected was that he would be charged with looking after the husband and son she left behind. He still isn't sure he's the best man for the job... SasuNaru kidfic, with heavy doses of angst and cuteness. Canon verse, after shinobi war. M chapters later.
1. The Death of a Princess

**Disclaimer: Not for profit, and I frown upon that kind of thing. **

**Mistakes and Mochi**

*Mochi - Japanese rice cake made when rice is pounded into a paste, traditionally made and eaten for New Years and the ceremony _mochitsuki. _The way I am using mochi in this fic is actually referring to **Mochi Ice Cream**, where ice cream is stuffed in a soft mochi wrap and eaten as a dessert. These are two very different things, but in this fic for simplicity I will refer to mochi ice cream as just mochi. if you are interested in finding out what mochi ice cream tastes like, head over to your neighborhood Trader Joes, they have it in the ice cream section!

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><p>CHAPTER 1: The Death of a Princess<p>

The entire village mourned for her.

As soon as the news came it was like a desolate fog settled in the air, swirling around the villagers and choking the joy from them. Sasuke could feel it too, couldn't escape the cloying grief surrounding him even if he'd wanted to. It's suffocating; and the cruel, hardened part of him that would never really go away just wished they could all move on.

All Konoha shinobi were assembled and briefed as soon as the messenger arrived with the news. Normally, Sasuke suspected that the Hokage had the duty of relaying this kind of information to his or her subordinates, but it was impossible to expect him to be able to do it, given the circumstances. When Tsunade showed up instead a murmur passed through the gathered crowd. Beside him Sakura frowned, sitting up straighter in her seat. As soon as the Fifth Hokage delivered the news Sakura dissolved to disbelieving gasps, and then tears.

"I have to go see him," she'd announced, glancing Sasuke's way. He was stunned himself, silently calculating the effects of this news and trying in vain to sort through his emotions. Sasuke caught her eye and his throat closed off. He nodded, but stayed where he was. She gave him a look—it may have been disappointment, or grief—and the next moment she was gone.

Sasuke couldn't stay any longer than her, but left on his own, to be alone and process. He was no stranger to death, but picturing her face in his mind he couldn't imagine her no longer alive. It troubled him.

That was when he noticed that the air in the village had turned stale and cold, how no one spoke above a whisper and hung their heads low in their own private sadness. Word had spread quickly, and in their hushed voices they spoke of her like they had known her themselves.

"The eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan," some called her. "She was so young. What a terrible tragedy."

"No! Not the Hokage's wife! Such a sweet, quiet thing. Tell me it isn't true!" Others knew her in tandem with him, had seen her glowing and smiling by his side as he floated through the village just the way he was always meant to, Hokage robes billowing around his ankles, hair a shocking halo of light, bright as the sun.

"And our young Hokage's son," they said, for once not even noticing the last Uchiha walking just behind them. "What became of him? Tell me he isn't dead, too!"

"No, kidnapped! They attacked her and the boy on their way back here from Sunagakure! She gave her life to protect him, is what I heard."

_So that's where he is_, Sasuke thought. Surely he left as soon as he got the news, went to rescue their son and avenge his wife's death. Sasuke couldn't picture him as an avenger, with hate filling those blue eyes and corrupting his pure, white soul. He couldn't think about it, had to think of something else.

Except—

The only thing he could think of is so dark and twisted and wrong and awful that he couldn't even _let_ himself think it. He closed his eyes as soon as he reached his apartment, sinking to the couch and letting his hair fall into his face when he lied down, trying desperately not to think the terrible thing.

A terrible sound started, slowly echoing louder and louder as he lied there. He knew what it was, but the sound of it still sent shivers up his spine. Their howling was uncontained, raw grief in pure sound form.

He couldn't imagine how the rest of the village was handling the dueling howls, synching together in their combined sorrow. They were too much to escape; he could do nothing but lie there and try in vain to stop picturing her, stop thinking about the anguish in Kiba and Akamaru's howls, how their throats must burn with the intensity of each long, pain-filled wail.

He must have fallen asleep at some point, though he didn't remember it happening, because the next thing he knew there's frantic knocking at his door. The howling had stopped.

_Bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam bam!_

No pattern or method, just incessant knocking, and he should have known who it was before he opened the door but he didn't, and the sight of him catches Sasuke completely off guard.

It's not as though he hadn't seen Naruto—he's the Hokage, Sasuke saw him every time he was given a new mission—it was just the first time in a long time he saw Naruto as raw and broken as he was now.

His eyes were red and watery, messy streaks down his face where tears had splattered. The edges of his sleeves were dirty, his hair unruly and lackluster with no hat or forehead protector to tame it. He was wearing his old clothes, the ones he wore before he became the leader of the village, before he became a husband and father. It's almost too much to bear.

"Sasuke!" he said as soon as he opened the door. His voice cracked and broke, like he'd spent all day screaming his throat raw. He looked exhausted. Sasuke didn't know why he was there.

There's something manic in his expression, in the way he clenched his fists and jaw when he looked into Sasuke's eyes. Something deep in Sasuke that he thought he'd killed burnt with life, but he pushed it aside and let him in.

"I'm sorry," was the first thing that he managed to say, and it sounded pitiful and wrong even to his ears, and he winced in time with Naruto. They stood awkwardly in the entrance hall, because Naruto must be there for a reason, right? He wouldn't have come to Sasuke's apartment the day he found out his wife was dead for no reason.

"I—" he started, and Sasuke didn't know where to stand or look, whether he should just pretend the past few years never happened, pretend like _that night_ never—

"I have a mission for you," he finally croaked out, avoiding Sasuke's gaze. He stared towards the ground, bangs obscuring his eyes. "They won't let me go. They won't let me go get Nori back."

It took Sasuke longer than he would like to admit to piece together that Nori was the name of Naruto's…son. He'd seen the kid plenty of times, sitting in Naruto's lap, running around the village, or held in his mother's arms. Sasuke tried not to think about it, because thinking about it for too long revealed his truth—he wasn't a good person. He thought he had come to terms with it years ago but when he saw that child, blond like his father with pale Hyuuga eyes from his mother, his stomach curdled and burnt, and he couldn't think about why.

He asked himself time and time again why he stayed in the village and could never find an answer he liked. It was like he was drawn there, like gravity kept him prisoner in a place where he was faced with his mistakes every day and every day grew to hate himself a little more.

"They're making me take a break from Hokage duties. Kakashi's taking over," Naruto explained, though every word sounded like it was gasped from a parched throat.

"Why?" Sasuke found himself asking, still trying to process why Naruto was there, in his apartment, after all this time.

"I'm too _emotional_," he gritted his teeth, twisting his sleeve as he tightened a hand around his arm. "They think I'm gonna do something rash. If I go to get Nori back I'll—"

He hesitated, and Sasuke thought about him getting revenge against the people who murdered his wife and kidnapped his child and shivered—he couldn't imagine the rage Naruto could muster if he really meant it. Maybe the elders were right not to send him, if just to keep him safe.

"I don't know what I'd do," he grunted. "It doesn't matter. They won't let me go. They won't listen. Neji can't go either. They've got him locked up until he calms down."

"What about you?" Sasuke wasn't sure exactly what he was asking, but it came out all on it's own. He could still read Naruto, even after all this time. Sometimes he thought he could read Naruto's emotions better than he could read his own.

"I'm—" Naruto swallowed thickly and winced. Sasuke wanted to yell at him for abusing himself so badly, for stubbornly coming to see him after all this time, and for something like this. "I just want my son back. Sasuke, please."

He finally caught Sasuke's gaze and Sasuke had never seen so much fear in someone's face. He couldn't even begin to imagine what Naruto was feeling—a man who just lost his wife and is unable go to his child. Sasuke could never understand that, and he felt the _terrible thought_ trying to taunt him again.

"You're one of the only people I trust to bring him home safe. I know this is—it's a lot to ask. From you, especially, after—I know—" he trailed off, biting his lip and turning back to the ground.

"I'll go," Sasuke replied.

He had a feeling he was going to regret it, but maybe if he saved her son he wouldn't feel like he owed her so much.

* * *

><p>It wasn't a normal mission. Sasuke wasn't even sure it was sanctioned by Kakashi, who was working as the Hokage while they forced Naruto on a break.<p>

He was ready in minutes and arrived at the exit of the village in time with his other teammates. He'd expected the two of them to be going with him, and they didn't seem all that surprised to see him there either. No one said a word. They nodded to each other and Akamaru let out a low whine, stopping instantly when Kiba placed a hand on his fur and climbed onto him. The Inuzuka had tearstains running down his cheeks to match Naruto's and Sasuke felt like he could still hear the haunting echo of the howls.

He glanced at the last member of their team.

Shino wore no expression, face obscured by his usual glasses and hood. And yet Sasuke could feel intense anger coming off of him in waves. His skin seemed to vibrate, clacking beneath his clothes, like he was just anxious to kill whoever had dared harm his gentle, innocent teammate.

Sasuke knew they were surely worried about her son, too. The child must know them better than any other genin. They probably visited their old teammate constantly, checking in on her condition and playing with her child. Their anger towards the murderers who'd killed her could only be intensified at the knowledge that the same nin were the ones holding her one and only offspring.

He would let them take care of the boy when it came time to collect him. Surely the child would panic at the sight of Sasuke—just another stranger in his eyes.

Sasuke would take care of the ninja holding him. He wasn't worried about the mission, or the enemies they were facing. He hadn't had a real fight since the last time he and Naruto sparred—and he could barely remember how many years had passed since then.

The enemies were Shinobi from a small, very recently formed village that the reconnaissance nin claimed to be called Dorogakure, Village Hidden in Mud. It was settled in Land of Rivers, just on the border of Land of Fire. She and the child had to cross through the area on their way back from Sungakure, unaware that Dorogakure had recently been formed by a group of outlaws with no ties to any other countries or villages. They discovered her identity and the identity of her son and foolishly decided to use them as hostages to overtake Konoha. They had killed her when she tried to fight them and escape, had outnumbered her and used her son to weaken her resolve.

Only one in their party had been allowed to leave, a Hyuuga who'd been escorting them back to the village, and he'd brought the news back to Konoha, as well as informing them that the Dorogakure nin had killed every other shinobi in their group and taken the child hostage, awaiting a response from the Hokage.

Sasuke couldn't imagine the kinds of idiots in this so-called village. They'd had no idea what they were getting themselves into, and murdering _her_ was the one thing that sealed their fate. Even without his own, albeit twisted, desire to avenge her death, he was sure Kiba and Shino had plans of their own for her murderers.

He wished it weren't that way, but he was relieved that Naruto was being held back, being kept a great distance from the people who took his wife from him.

Naruto Uzumaki had forgiven a great number of unforgivable acts and irredeemable souls in his lifetime but he was human and if there was one thing Sasuke understood it was revenge and the way it ate at your mind until there was barely anything left.

He wouldn't wish it on anyone, least of all Naruto.

It didn't bother him much; he was already too far gone. He just couldn't get her face out of his mind. It was like every time he closed his eyes he saw her and it felt like the guilt would eat him alive.

"_Sasuke… Thank you," he'd said, shoulders and eyelids drooping like they'd been held up by strings. He was exhausted, but had come all the way out to ask Sasuke personally to bring his son back. After all this time, after everything Sasuke had done to drive them apart, Naruto still trusted him that much. _

"_Don't mention it," he replied, and looked away because the guilt threatened to swallow him whole. After all this time…and Sasuke still wanted him. _

He shook the thoughts away and leapt over a winding branch, following close behind Kiba and Shino. They were moving fast, nothing to slow them down and enough conviction between the three of them to keep them going until they reached their destination. Sasuke had no doubts that the mission would be complete by the end of the night.

The terrain changed quickly as they moved, muggier and warmer, with less hills than were around Konoha. It was unfamiliar land, though each of them had been through the area before they had never stopped long enough to have a good sense of the place. It was a disadvantage, but one they knew they would have to risk.

Naruto had given him instructions to find Dorogakure before he'd gone, and Shino and Kiba had clearly been informed as well. The instructions were vague, as the village was hidden and new, and no one truly knew where the village's nin were staying. They came upon a river, the water a murky brown, just as Naruto had described it would be.

"_I went through this place once, with Jiraiya. It's just on the outside of Land of Fire and I remember that there were a lot of rivers, all coming together from different directions. Jiraiya kept trying to explain how each one had different water because it came from different places but I wasn't paying attention. We think this Dorogakure place is right where the brown and yellow rivers meet, because that's closest to where—to—"_

"_The place they were attacked," Sasuke finished, eager to head out and begin the mission. _

_Naruto nodded. Sasuke could barely believe he could keep his head up; he looked too exhausted to be capable of it. He knew that Naruto wouldn't be able to sleep until he knew the fate of his son, but he wished he could force him to get some rest anyway. _

"_Once you reach the meeting of the rivers you'll have to find the rest of the way on your own."_

They followed the brown river barely an hour before it widened and the sounds of another river joining with it could be heard. They stayed in the trees because the mud was thick and would only slow them down. Akamaru paused and both he and Kiba sniffed the air. Sasuke saw the fur on Akamaru's back rise as he started to growl.

"We're close," Shino murmured. Sasuke could sense his bloodlust and felt his own adrenaline rushing, ready for a fight. He hoped it wouldn't be over too quickly.

They moved carefully and quietly, the light from the moon and stars obscured by the canopy of trees overhead. The loudest sound was the rushing of the water. Sasuke could hear plenty of bugs but none seemed to bother them; he wondered how much control Shino had over bugs that weren't his family's.

"_Where are they_?" Kiba snarled. They'd reached a wide bank and the trees tapered off as they moved towards the water. The ground shifted beneath their feet. Sasuke focused a small amount of chakra to keep himself from slipping.

It bothered him how barren it seemed, no buildings or bases anywhere, not even any bridges to cross over the water. Something flashed in his memory—Orochimaru's hideouts hadn't been easy to see from above either. _Below the mud?_

He hadn't thought he would need to, but he activated his sharingan. It was just in time to notice the pinpoints of chakra surrounding them before the mud began to move.

"_They're underground. Look out!_" He shouted, leaping into the air as a muddy hand sprang from the ground trying to latch around his ankle. He landed on a grassy bank; Kiba and Akamaru in a small tree while Shino swarmed bugs around his feet to keep the mud away. It seemed like the mud itself moved, took shape and separated from the pits of mud all around them. The enemy ninja rose from the ground and other emerged dripping and deformed from the water.

_They're like Suigetsu,_ Sasuke realized as the shinobi closest to him formed an arm out of mud where none had been before. Their clothing and skin was mud-covered, even the ones who had come from the river. There were about twenty that had revealed themselves and he could sense more underground—he had been right about a hidden base—they wore no headbands or village markers that he could see, but it had to be them.

"You're the Dorogakure nin?" he asked. Akamaru growled and barked.

"So the Konoha's Hokage has sent _you_ to negotiate," one of the mud-covered ninja spoke up. He looked no different than all the others, and was standing a bit back, closer to the water.

"The famous, last Uchiha," he continued, smirking. Sasuke glared.

"There will be no negotiations. Our mission is simple: retrieve the Hokage's son at any cost. Get rid of any who might be in the way." Akamaru barked twice.

"Just here for the boy? You aren't here to disband Dorogakure?" he was still smirking, and it was starting to really piss Sasuke off. He could sense the tingling of electricity underneath his skin, feel his chakra building. "Does Konoha's leader only care about himself, not the good of the people?"

"Land of Fire and Land of Rivers will deal with you later. It isn't our concern," Shino replied, and Sasuke glanced his way to find that he had already made his move. Good, then Sasuke would stop waiting around too.

Everything happened at once: three of the Mud nin dropped to the ground screaming, Akamaru leapt forward with Kiba just behind him and locked his jaws on one of their necks. Sasuke saw an opportunity and moved swiftly to the one who had been talking. He had a hand around the man's throat before he could even stop smirking.

"Where is the boy?" he asked, squeezing tight as the sounds of screams and squishing mud filled his ears. The shinobi started to melt back into mud, to the ground, but Sasuke activated amaterasu in time to stop him before he went down all the way. He screamed as the black flames licked his body. Another enemy tried to attack him and Sasuke pushed the ninja into him, catching him on fire as well.

Just before he fell to the ground he glanced back towards the largest part of the river and Sasuke followed his gaze. He squinted in the darkness and at a distance saw a structure in the water—a dam, naturally made with sticks and logs. It must have been blocking the entrance to their underground building. He turned to tell Shino but found the bug-nin otherwise engaged. There were two Mud nin writhing on the ground, swarmed by bugs. Sasuke had never seen Shino so brutal.

"_Did_ you _kill her_?" Kiba screamed, clawing at a man with an already bloodied face as his dog ripped into a man lying on the ground.

Sasuke was beginning to think there would be nothing left of Dorgakure once they were finished with it. It was better that way—her murderers would be wiped off the planet and Naruto would never need to face it himself. He couldn't imagine what might have happened if Neji was there with them.

"Kiba, the entrance—" he tried to say, but it seemed the dog nin couldn't hear him, so caught up in his own fight. Sasuke deflected an attack aimed at him with his katana, sheathing it without hesitation and glancing from his companions to the dam where surely Naruto's son was being held. He started towards it himself, allowing Shino and Kiba their bloody revenge, then paused.

He was on the mission for Naruto, but he was on it for himself too, to make himself feel even with _her_, less guilty, somehow. He didn't know if he could face rescuing her son. He had expected Shino or Kiba to take care of that as he bloodied his own hands in the name of making things right for her. Still, he couldn't leave the child…

He started towards the dam slowly, keeping watch for any other enemies, and then suddenly a huge wave of chakra came rushing over him—from the direction of the dam.

He heard a scream, a child's scream, and his body moved on it's own, racing to the widest part of the river and over the dam, searching frantically to find the entrance. He blasted apart the dam with a fireball and found a hidden door leading down, underneath the water. His heart was pounding in his ears; if something happened to the child, if Sasuke was too late to save him, if somehow he didn't—

"_Nori is all I have now. Please, Sasuke, I—I'm begging! Bring him back to me no matter what!"_

Sasuke raced through the hallways, using the terrible power of the chakra as a guide until he could hear a commotion at the end of a hallway. The walls were shattered and the ceilings were rattling with the power coming from the room. A few of the Dorogakure nin were fleeing from something and Sasuke felt his mouth going dry as he raced closer, turning a corner into a room to see what was responsible for the immense chakra. It wasn't what he had expected.

Sasuke had seen Nori plenty of times. The first time he saw him was in Naruto's office, asleep in his mother's arms. He was only a week old, and when Sasuke entered the room to deliver a report Naruto had been smiling the softest, happiest smile Sasuke had ever seen while staring at the bundle in his wife's arms. He was shocked, even though he knew he shouldn't have been. Everyone had been waiting for Hinata to pop and the news had travelled fast when she had finally given birth a week before. But, hearing about Naruto's child and seeing him were two very different things. Naruto had turned to him with bright, excited eyes, like he couldn't wait to show Sasuke his baby and Sasuke had quickly nodded, bowed and left with the excuse that he would return later, pretending as he left that he couldn't see the hurt in his Hokage's eyes.

Once, he had promised to spend time with Sakura, only to show up at her house to find her playing with the child on the floor. She smiled and said that Naruto and Hinata left him with her so they could have a night off, and she was glad Sasuke was there so he could help her watch him. One look at the tiny boy with Naruto's bright blond hair and he had to leave, made excuses that he knew Sakura could see through, went home and drank until he couldn't think about the past anymore.

Sasuke ran into mother and child in the village time and again, on the street and in the grocery store. She always smiled kindly and said hello, instructing the child to do the same once he was old enough. Every time Sasuke looked at him he hid himself behind his mother's legs and murmured hello in a tiny, nervous voice. Sasuke's chest ached every single time it happened, until he took to going grocery shopping late at night so they surely wouldn't be there.

The child spent time in Naruto office often, with and without his mother. He hid behind his father instead of mother when Sasuke appeared, peering up at him with wide, pale eyes. Seeing them together was the worst.

He may have inherited his mother's kekkei genkai but the shape of his eyes was just the same as Naruto. His hair was longer, but spiked the same way Naruto's did, and was the same shade of blond. He was timid, at least whenever Sasuke saw him, with a sweet disposition and a calm demeanor. That was the child Sasuke remembered.

This was not that child.

The child before him was more monster than boy, with chakra swirling about him like whips, crashing into the walls and ceilings and taking chunks out everywhere they touched. The boy's hair no longer drooped but stood upright with the force of the power swirling around him. His byakugan wasn't activated but he was on all fours in the center of the room, mouth open and fangs bared. One of the whips of chakra surged red and bubbly, and he understood what was happening in an instant.

All thoughts of Naruto and Hinata flew from his mind—Nori was the one who was in danger. The sweet boy he knew before had been replaced by an out of control beast, and if he didn't stop it soon he would be hurt by his own power. He could already see the strain it was putting on his body—he would probably sleep for days once it was over. Sasuke didn't know how or why, but somehow the child had access to all nine Tailed Beasts, and they were taking over just like the fox used to take Naruto.

He dodged a swirling tail and activated his sharingan. It didn't take much to get Nori to look into his eyes, and then suddenly he found himself inside the child's mind, just like he'd done with Naruto all those years ago.

"We don't need to _all_ come out to protect him! Someone pull back, _it's too much_."

"What if they try to hurt him again? He can control us!"

"I'll _kill_ whoever touches Naruto's son! _Rip_ 'em apart!"

"Don't worry, don't worry, he can handle it!"

Sasuke found himself in the center of a room filled with the beasts. They were all screaming at each other, arguing and pushing and trying to be heard. They were so consumed with it they didn't even notice him there.

"He was injured! This wouldn't have happened if we'd come out sooner!"

"It's just a scratch, Matatabi. He's fine!"

Sasuke heard a quiet sobbing and looked down, heart catching in his chest to see Nori curled up into a ball at the center of the behemoth monsters, whimpering in fear as they argued over him.

"_Shut it!"_ he shouted, and one by one the beasts stopped arguing, staring at him as he glared at each of them.

"You're scaring him," he added, bending down to gently place a hand on the child's back. He flinched at first, then slowly turned around sniffing with tears in his eyes. He started crying harder when he saw Sasuke and at first Sasuke panicked, thinking surely the child grew even more frightened with this strangers appearance, but the next moment he threw his tiny arms around Sasuke's shoulders and hugged him close, tucking his face into the crook of Sasuke's neck.

A million emotions fluttered through Sasuke all at once, but he ignored them for a moment and wrapped his arms around Nori's back, picking him up and holding him as he glared at the fox.

"He's way too young to be able to control all of you at once. What were you thinking?"

All nine beasts started talking at once, but the fox quickly cut them off.

"Quiet!" he shouted. They died down and he stared at Sasuke appraisingly. Then suddenly he grinned. "I remember you, the Uchiha with the mean eyes! It's the first time we were called upon to protect him, so we didn't know what to expect. He was in danger and we reacted without thinking. It turned out alright, you came to get him."

"You're lucky it was me and not someone else!"

"Hehehe, I bet you're right. Anyway, get him home safe to Naruto. He's been through a lot, poor kid. Hmmm, but you and Naruto know something about losing your parents, don't you? You can both help him get past it."

Sasuke wanted to correct him, to explain that it wasn't his place to help her son with anything, that he had no place intruding on Naruto's life even if she was gone, but instead he just nodded and glanced down at the child in his arms.

Nori seemed to have fallen asleep and Sasuke closed his eyes. When he opened them again he was back in the base and Nori was lying asleep on the ground. Everything was quiet, though the damage to the room, and the base, was extensive.

As Sasuke carefully picked Nori up he noticed a small slice on the side of the child's neck; it wasn't even bleeding. He glanced around the room at the damage—the huge chunks of the walls and ceiling that had been torn out by the tails and the huge, surging chakra, and shook his head. _All this for a scratch?_ Only Naruto's son would be able to make such a mess…

When he reached the entrance and climbed back to the muddy shore of the river he knew the fight was over. There wasn't a sound but the rushing water and he could see Shino, Kiba and Akamaru on the edge of the trees on the far side of the bank, illuminated by the faint pink glow of the rising sun.

He walked over to them quickly, careful not to jostle Nori too much, though he knew the kid would be out for at least several more hours. Kiba was leaning on Akamaru and looked injured, but alive. Shino glanced at him as he approached; he didn't have a scratch on him.

"Nori isn't hurt, right?" Kiba asked, a worried edge to his voice. "I felt that huge chakra a while ago. I'd never felt something like that before. It was out of control."

"Nori is fine. Just a scratch. Don't worry about the chakra, I took care of it."

"We should head back," Shino nodded. He sounded almost tired, but maybe he now that he had gotten his revenge he allowed himself to feel his grief.

"Are they all gone?" Sasuke asked, looking back to the mud, spotting shapes and lumps of bodies scattered across the riverbank. He couldn't say he was surprised that Shino and Kiba killed them all, but he pitied them at the same time. It didn't matter if the person was your enemy, taking a life was still taking a life.

"We're taking one back with us," Shino answered, moving to the side to reveal a body-shaped mass of bugs, wiggling and struggling and trapped inside a crawling prison.

"For Neji," Kiba grunted, carefully mounting Akamaru and heading back in the direction of the village. The light had finally reached the tops of the trees and Sasuke saw the mud and water splashed with red blood. Dorogakure and the men who killed her were gone.

* * *

><p>It should have taken them about a day to get back, with Kiba injured, Shino's prisoner, and Sasuke carrying a sleeping Nori, but Naruto met them halfway.<p>

Sasuke thought several times about letting Shino or Kiba carry Nori; they knew him better than he did, after all, but every time he considered asking one of them it didn't seem like the right time. Not to mention Nori was comfortable and warm in his arms, and he didn't want to disturb him. He just tried to ignore the guilt that wracked him as he held her child, to keep from thinking the terrible thing, and told himself that it was perfectly okay for his chest to feel warm and fuzzy with a child in his arms—even if he'd never experienced the sensation before.

Regardless, that was how Naruto found them. Sasuke spotted him a ways up the road, and as soon as he saw Naruto, Naruto saw them.

"_Nori!"_ he shouted, picking up speed, running at them as fast as he could so he could reach his son and make sure he was okay. Naruto had just about reached them, panting and out of breath, when Sasuke said calmly,

"He's fine, Naruto. He's okay."

Naruto skidded to a halt just in front of Sasuke, face as devastated and messy as he'd last seen—if not worse. And yet the moment he saw his son and Sasuke handed him over, careful not to wake him, he smiled as tears bubbled in his eyes again. He held his son close to him, folding to the ground and stroking the blond hair so much like his own. Sasuke was so absorbed in Naruto's suffering that he didn't even notice Neji appearing just behind him, casting a sad glance at the last trace of Hinata he'd ever get before turning to Shino and taking their captive away, back on to the village.

"He—" Sasuke started, unsure whether he should interrupt Naruto's reunion with his son after losing his wife. "He might sleep for a while, but he should be okay. Have Sakura or Tsunade look at him when you get back to the village."

He paused, hesitating, unable to look at Naruto and unable to look away. Finally he sighed and turned towards the road to the village.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried, and he turned around in a flash. Naruto's bright blue eyes poured into him, tore him up right to his very soul. "Thank you—thank you for bringing him back safe."

Sasuke winced and hoped Naruto wouldn't see. He closed his eyes and turned away.

_Don't thank me,_ he thought desperately, hating himself for thinking the terrible thought and for thinking that rescuing her son would absolve him of any guilt when the only thing he could think since the moment he knew about her death was,

_Maybe if she's gone, he can be mine. _

* * *

><p><strong>Ahhhhh, the smell of new fic in the air! <strong>

**Welcome to Mistakes and Mochi, my first SasuNaru kidfic! I haven't written a real multi-chapter in a while, so bear with me guys. I'm trying not to post chapters without already having written at least part of the next chapter, so hopefully the break between chapters won't be too overwhelming. Dunno how long this is gonna be yet, but it's certainly going to be slow-build angst here for a while. **

**If you're wondering why Neji is alive, here's my answer:**

**A) This is probably my last chance to write a fic with him in it, and since I'm killing off Hinata I feel like I should probably have at least one Hyuuga live on. B) I needed a rival for Sasuke, and while Sai and Gaara usually work pretty nicely, because of the plot here, Neji is the perrrfect rival not only for Naruto's attention but for Nori's as well. C) Because I'm sad Neji is gone and gonna stay in denial about it and D) Because I wanted to. **

**Anyway, with that said, let me know what you guys think! -KeikoPanda102**


	2. Promises

CHAPTER 2: Promises

It was sunny the day of the wedding, but started raining lightly in the middle of the ceremony. Just a light drizzle, not even enough to ruin the happy mood of the occasion. Naruto seemed as if he didn't even notice it as drops splashed into his hair and rolled down her blushing cheeks. No one bothered to move under a canopy to avoid it and as soon as the vows were made it stopped as suddenly as it started.

All this Sasuke only knew from the report Sakura had insisted on giving him the next day, detailing every little thing about the ceremony, down to the clothes everyone was wearing and the look on Naruto's face when he first saw her in her gorgeous, elegant kimono.

Sasuke hadn't attending the wedding.

Looking back, that was probably when things really began to go bad.

_Things were already sour between them, had been ever since _that night_, but they were at least still speaking, still trying to pretend like nothing happened and everything was normal. Naruto had been dating Hinata for almost half a year when he came by Sasuke's apartment and nervously asked him if he wanted to go by Ichiraku for some dinner. It wasn't a strange request; they ate together often, even with the strangeness that hung over both of them since that night. Naruto's obvious nervousness made Sasuke anxious himself, worried that maybe Naruto was going to confront him, that they were going to have to really talk about what had happened and Sasuke knew he had no idea what he was going to say. He agreed anyway, ignoring how his heart felt like it was in his throat the entire walk to the ramen bar. _

_They were both quieter than normal—even Naruto. He spent the whole time walking with his hands in his pockets, casting unsubtle glances Sasuke's way every few seconds. Whenever Sasuke tried to say something it died on his tongue and they ended up ordering their food in the same reserved tones. Teuchi even stared at them oddly as he took their orders, like he could tell something was off between them. _

_Sasuke was halfway through his first bowl and Naruto was just starting his second when he finally blurted out,_

"_I'm getting married next month!"_

_Sasuke had blinked slowly, twice, carefully setting his chopsticks down and pushing the empty ramen bowl away before replying evenly,_

"_Congratulations." _

"_Uh," Naruto swallowed, staring down into his bowl, hands on his thighs, "Um, thanks? It's—" A soft smile fell to his face and Sasuke clenched his fists beneath the counter. "It's pretty great!" _

_He wanted to run, to get away from Naruto as soon as possible before Naruto could notice that something was wrong. Instead he just sat there silently until he couldn't any longer. He was lucky he had as much practice hiding his emotions as he did—it came in handy. _

"_So?" he asked, smirking. "Brought me to Ichiraku just to tell me that? You were acting so nervous I thought it was something important."_

_Naruto huffed out a laugh, rubbing the back of his head. _

"_Well—I uh, I wanted to ask you something, too." He glanced quickly at Sasuke and then away again. He was still nervous, fiddling anxiously with the fabric of his pants, hesitating to ask what he wanted to. _

"_What did you want to ask?" Sasuke finally prompted, hoping he could end their conversation and give some excuse to get home as soon as possible. He didn't know how much longer he could be around Naruto now. It hurt too much to bear. _

_Naruto sent another quick glance his way and then inhaled deeply, like he was gathering courage. _

"_Will you be my best man?" _

_Sasuke hadn't expected that, though he didn't know why. He was Naruto's best friend; Naruto was his. Naruto didn't know how he felt, didn't realize how that night, that stupid fucking disaster of a night, had changed their relationship. Of course Naruto would want him by his side on his wedding day. _

_His stomach felt like lead. He knew he could do it—could stand by Naruto's side and watch the man he loved marry someone else—he just didn't want to. _

"_You know," Naruto added, staring down at his lap, even more nervous than before since Sasuke had yet to reply. "Since my mom and dad are—they can't be there. And Pervy Sage is, um… Of course Sakura is gonna be there! And Kakashi and Iruka-sensei, and everybody. I was just hoping maybe you would—"_

"_You said next month?" Sasuke cut him off, refusing to look into the blond's eyes._

"_Yeah?" _

"_I have a mission," he lied, and didn't even need to look over to know how Naruto's shoulders drooped and his face fell in disappointment. _

"_Oh," he said. "Right." _

_That was the last night things were anywhere close to normal between them. After rejecting Naruto's offer of best man they stopped eating together, spending time together, and eventually stopped talking all together unless they were with others. A few people noticed it, but no one said anything, at least not to Sasuke. Sakura looked as if she wanted to, plenty of times, but she never did, and Sasuke was glad. He didn't know how he would explain it to her if she ever did. _

_Sasuke used his fake excuse as a reason to take an actual mission around the time of the wedding. Fortunately there were plenty, as many of the shinobi in the village wanted to have the time off to attend the ceremony—unfortunately, the mission Tsunade ended up giving him was that of a village guard, which meant he remained in Konoha instead of being away like he'd wanted. He was sure she'd done it on purpose. _

_He'd been shielding his eyes from the sun when the first splattered drops of rain fell into his hair. He smiled to himself sardonically, thinking that rain while the sun was shining was just the kind of weather to have the day a fox got married.***_

The weather the day of her funeral was the opposite, and this time Sasuke didn't avoid the ceremony.

It had been cloudy all day, with patches of intense rain and a fog that wouldn't lift. He'd gotten dressed in black clothing that matched what every other villager wore as they filed towards the graveyard. Sakura found him in the crowd easily, falling in step beside him. She said nothing, just stared at the ground in front of her as they walked. Ino joined them after a ways and held Sakura's hand until they reached the graves.

He was waiting there, dressed in black with no Hokage robes thrown across his shoulders. He held Nori's hand as the child stood beside him—father and son wore matching expressions of grief as they stared towards the ground.

To his left stood Kakashi and Tsunade. Neither wore the Hokage robes either.

On his right, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino had their places. They looked worse than Sasuke had seen them before, like the truth of it had finally settled in their minds and was trying to drag them into the ground themselves. Kurenai was beside them with her son, crying silently as she watched the crowds gather. He felt a twang of pity for her—he knew she thought of Hinata as her own daughter. He caught her glance down the row of people at Nori and then back at her own son, shaking her head sadly. Suddenly Sasuke felt that the Dorogakure ninja who'd killed her didn't get nearly what they deserved.

The ceremony began and the crowd parted to leave a wide path for the members of the Hyuuga family carrying her casket to move through. As soon as they came into view the rain stopped.

Hiashi held up the front left with Neji on the opposite side. Sasuke was surprised to see Hanabi holding up the back end with help from the guard who had returned after the attack with her body and the news of her fate. He hadn't thought Hiashi would allow his younger daughter to carry so much weight, but from the little he knew of Hanabi Hyuuga, she seemed as strong-willed as her father and cousin.

Sasuke was sure Naruto would be with them if not for the customs of the Hyuuga clan. Instead he stood silently with his son and watched the procession approach.

The sun shone throughout the entire ceremony and Sasuke stood silently by Sakura and Ino until it was finished and they moved off to find their other friends.

"And to offer our condolences," Sakura said, obviously hinting at what she thought Sasuke should do himself. He didn't bother replying. His condolences meant nothing. Nothing he said would change how he felt about Naruto.

His eyes searched the crowd until he found him, and was surprised to find him in conversation with Gaara, Temari, and Shikamaru. They must have come all the way from Sand just for the funeral. He didn't know why he was surprised—after all, they had been on their way back from Sand when they were attacked. Gaara must feel some kind of guilt, however baseless it may be. He could just barely hear their conversation from where he was standing, hiding behind a group of villagers silently praying.

"Are you and Temari only here for a visit?" Naruto asked Shikamaru.

"No, I think we're going to stay for a while."

"I said I didn't want another Leaf baby," Temari added, smiling down at the small bump of her belly, "but Asume missed it here and Shishika only got to see her Aunt Ino a few times a year. They'll be happier settled down for a while, at least until this one is old enough to travel. It's been hard to pick a place to stay. Sand and Leaf both want us. When Gaara said he was coming we thought we would tag along. I'm sorry it's because of such circumstances. How is Nori?"

Naruto face darkened and he looked towards the ground.

"He's… he's quiet. He's depressed and I feel like I can't do anything to help him."

"He'll be okay, Naruto," Gaara muttered, placing a hand gently on Naruto's shoulder. "He's strong. You just have to be there for him. Do you know when they'll let you go back to your Hokage duties?"

"No. Kakashi hasn't said. I know I need to spend time with Nori, but I want to get back to work. I feel helpless not doing anything."

"I'll speak with Kakashi and the elders about it," Gaara promised.

Sasuke needed to speak to Kakashi as well, and searched the crowd until he found him, standing where Sasuke should have expected him to be, in front of the stone with the names of his former teammates on it. He approached cautiously, unsure how Kakashi would react to him—they hadn't been on the best of terms ever since Sasuke returned to the village. Kakashi was one of the few people who still didn't seem to trust him.

"Can I help you, Sasuke?" his old teacher asked, hands sliding into his pockets. His gaze didn't leave the stone. Sasuke stood beside him, staring forward as he answered.

"What happened to the captive Shino brought back?"

"He's gone," was the only answer Kakashi provided.

"Did Naruto…?"

"No. He didn't know he was ever in the village. The man gave us some information and then Neji took care of him."

Sasuke let out a shallow sigh. Kakashi looked at him briefly before looking away again.

"You know why we didn't let Naruto go retrieve Nori, don't you, Sasuke?"

He nodded. The reasons they'd given Naruto weren't valid enough to be real. He wasn't "too emotional" and the Dorogakure nin had no allies to offend if the Hokage attacked them, those were just excuses to keep Naruto in the village.

He thought about Shino and Kiba, the hollow looks on their faces and the way they'd reacted on the mission. He thought about Neji and how they'd had to restrain him, and he thought about himself, what revenge and murder did to _him_. They'd made the right choice keeping Naruto away, though it must have been difficult to accomplish.

"What kind of information did the Mud nin give?"

Kakashi paused, deciding whether he would answer or not. Eventually he began,

"They were attacked as soon as they entered the territory. They were being watched for a ways before they reached it but none of their party noticed until it was too late.

"They captured Nori first, and getting Hinata to cooperate after that was easy. Then they started killing the rest of their party, all while Nori and Hinata watched. Finally Hinata couldn't stand it anymore and she fought back, trying to free her son so that they could flee. They outnumbered her and wore her down, finally using her son against her. Apparently she took a countless number of them with her, but in the end she was choked to death by some twisted water jutsu."

"The boy," Sasuke didn't want to ask, "he—"

"He saw the whole thing," Kakashi replied quietly. Sasuke shut his eyes. Memories he hadn't thought about for years came flooding back—his mother and father's blood pooling on the floor, their bodies falling as his brother stood over them, red eyes spinning. No child deserved those kinds of memories haunting them for the rest of their life. He suddenly wanted to do something for the child, but couldn't even begin to think of what he might be able to do.

He changed the subject instead.

"Is there anything left of Dorogakure?"

"We don't believe so. If there was, we would send you back."

Sasuke had imagined that was the case. It was just the kind of mission that was perfect for him. The village knew how powerful he was, and anytime they wanted something done fast and quiet they sent him. They weren't secret, dark missions—with Naruto in charge there was nothing like that anymore. No Root or bloody Anbu wars to be fought—but shinobi were shinobi and when situations like that of Dorogakure came along, Sasuke was perfect for the job.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi asked pleasantly, as the rain slowly started up again. His dark eyes were trained on Sasuke, calculating in a way that made Sasuke's defenses rise.

"Hn?"

"You aren't planning on involving yourself in Naruto's life again, are you?"

So that was it. He should have known.

Sasuke glared and spun around to leave.

"That's none of your business," he spat, and left his old teacher with his dead friends to keep him company.

* * *

><p>When Sasuke returned home, he drank.<p>

He didn't drink often—it was an unhealthy, wasteful habit. He never purchased alcohol, but it was given so often as a gift he always had a bottle or two in his cabinet if he so desired. He hoped maybe it would help him get to sleep; he never slept well on rainy nights.

It had been rainy _that night_, too—and they had been drinking.

"_Haaaaaa hahahaha! Don't look so sour about it, teme! I'm sure Granny wasn't serious about the D-rank missions, and that old lady will forgive you for scaring her someday, I'm sure."_

"_Hn, if you're just here to laugh and make stupid joke then get out of my house, dobe." _

_They'd already been out drinking after the mission—Tsunade decided to take Naruto to some bars to congratulate him on starting his Hokage training. It had been his last mission before training and as a joke she'd made he and Sasuke help some old lady with her daily chores. They'd almost failed because they started arguing and when she found out she threatened to have Sasuke suspended to D-rank missions "if he can't even manage one mission without a fight breaking out." _

_Sakura and Kakashi had joined them at the bar, they'd eaten and drank, Naruto growing increasingly loud and boisterous as Tsunade kept making him do him more and more sake bombs. By the time the others decided to go home even Sasuke felt a little tipsy. That was probably why he agreed to let Naruto come back to his place and keep drinking. _

"_I'm not tired at all! Come on, Sasuke, we're finally adults and all you want to do is read all day and water your plants!"_

_Sasuke had glared at him but consented and allowed the loud blond willingly into his apartment. It wasn't even a good idea on a normal day, when no alcohol had been consumed, because whenever he and Naruto spent too much time together they ended up fighting and causing some kind of property destruction. Yet somehow Sasuke didn't want the night to end. _

"_Oi, you think we'll ever be like Gai and Kakashi-sensei?" _

_Sasuke gave him an alarmed look from across his living room coffee table. They were both sitting on the floor with open bottles in front of them. It felt warm in his house, though it was probably just from all the drinking. There was a blush on Naruto's cheeks that betrayed his own inebriation. _

_The alcohol must have been affecting Sasuke more than he thought, because instead of refusing to dignify such a ridiculous question with an answered, he replied,_

"_I'm not nearly as pathetic as Kakashi and you're only about half as obnoxious as Gai. There's no way we'd ever be that ridiculous."_

_Naruto's face showed amusement, annoyance, and then thoughtfulness. _

"_I mean, do you think we'll get tired of beating the crap out of each other all the time and start making up other competitions? We could try rock, paper, scissors?" _

"_That's a dumb contest, there's no skill." _

"_That sounds like something someone scared of losing would say!" _

"_No way, dead last. I'm not gonna fall for that." _

"_Whatever, spoil sport," Naruto muttered, pouting at his glass. He lifted it to his mouth, licking the perspiration around the neck of the bottle before throwing his head back to take a huge gulp. He set the glass back down and looked up at Sasuke from under his eyelashes. When he noticed Sasuke staring at him he glanced away, looking towards his lap. _

_Sasuke blinked and frowned at himself. He didn't know why he had been staring so intently at Naruto; it wasn't as if they didn't spent time together. It had been a few years since they were reunited (or, as Naruto called it, "punched Sasuke hard enough that he finally got some sense") (which was not, in Sasuke's memory, exactly what happened, but either way he had agreed to return to the village, so it didn't make much difference in the end) and they spent most of that time together. It was like Naruto was trying to make up for all the time they'd been apart—not to mention Naruto was one of the very few people Sasuke could stand to be around at first. He still had some trouble dealing with a few of his classmates and fellow comrades, but he was much more reasonable than when he'd first returned. _

_He looked up again to find Naruto telling him some dumb joke, and he completely forgot about the moment before, taking a sip of his own drink as he listened to Naruto try and come up with more competitions they could have instead of just rolling around on the ground wrestling or sparring until neither could move. _

"_You know, 'cuz I'm not gonna have as much time for that stuff. When I'm Hokage." _

"_Hn. Don't worry about it. I'll still find time to kick your ass if you want." _

_Naruto grinned, but then his expression fell. _

"_What?" Sasuke found himself asking. _

"_Granny just said it takes a lot of time. And she always seems like she's working. I don't want to be so busy I won't see anyone. I wonder how my dad did it…"_

_Sasuke hesitated, awkwardly unsure in the suddenly heavy room. He sighed and Naruto looked up at him curiously._

"_The fourth was much cooler than you are," he said flatly. "You shouldn't compare yourself to him." _

"_Asshole!" Naruto shouted, tossing a pillow from the couch at Sasuke's head. He dodged it easily and smirked Naruto's way. He was glad to find that it had eased at least some of Naruto's tension. _

_The night pressed on, later and later. It was surely nearing morning and Sasuke should have been tired, but he wasn't. The night outside was wet and cool, but inside his apartment was warm and dry. He imagined Naruto would want to stay the night, and for once Sasuke was inclined to let him. _

_They bickered about the mission, the ninja world, their friends. Naruto laughed and Sasuke was drunk enough that he might have smiled once or twice. Once he realized his motor skills were affected he decided to stop, but Naruto continued drinking._

_He brought another bottle up for a long sip, then groaned to find it empty. He shakily stood from the floor, heading to the kitchen. _

"_Time for another beeeer!" he crowed, and for some reason Sasuke found himself standing to follow the blond. _

"_You're going to get alcohol poisoning," Sasuke told him, leaning against his kitchen counter as Naruto opened the fridge door. _

"_I'm just training," Naruto replied, happily pulling out a cold bottle and closing the door. "According to Granny Tsunade, being Hokage means a loooot of drinking." _

_Sasuke snorted and rolled his eyes. He watched as Naruto stuck his tongue out trying to get the bottle open._

"_You're drunk off your ass," he commented, and Naruto made a face at him. _

"_Am not! And you're one to talk, all pink and happy. I've never heard you say so much, Sasuke-_chan_." _

"_Idiot!" Sasuke spat back, still amused to watch Naruto futilely trying to open the bottle with his hands. "Give that here before you hurt yourself."_

_Naruto sheepishly handed the bottle over and Sasuke searched through a drawer for the bottle opener they'd been using earlier. _

"_Hey… Sasuke?" Naruto asked, leaning beside him against the counter. His voice had changed—was suddenly serious like it had been earlier. Sasuke glanced at him to find him scowling. He opened another drawer looking for the bottle opener as he asked,_

"_What?" _

"_I'm serious, you know. I'm really going to be Hokage. What if I hate it? What if I fuck it up? It's finally happening and I'm—"_

_He stopped, voice catching in his throat. Sasuke gave up and set the bottle on the countertop beside him. He folded his arms and tried to focus on what Naruto was saying and not the heat of his body so close to Sasuke's. The alcohol was making his brain work harder than normal, making him sensitive to strange things. He shook his head. _

"_Stop worrying about it. You aren't even Hokage yet. Isn't this what you've been wanting your whole life?" _

"_Of course! I just—I don't know—what if I'm not good at it? Do you think I'll be good? I mean really, Sasuke."_

_Sasuke looked at him, stared into Naruto's anxious blue eyes. His face was still flushed, and for some reason Sasuke found himself glancing at his lips, moist and parted, before looking back into those eyes. _

"_I thought we decided this a long time ago, Naruto. You're the _only person_ I trust to be Hokage. The only reason I'm here is because you're going to be Hokage." _

_He saw Naruto swallow, nod his head, and then look up at him from underneath his eyelashes again. Somehow it made the blush on his face more prominent and Sasuke blinked, annoyed that he let himself get so drunk. _

"_I'm really going to be Hokage, aren't I?" he asked, voice soft, like he was in awe of the whole idea. _

"_Yeah, and then maybe you can finally shut up about it," Sasuke replied with a smirk. _

_Naruto grinned, staring at Sasuke intently. _

"_I'll be Hokage… and you'll be by my side, right? Just in case I do fuck it up?"_

"_Where else would I be?" Sasuke answered, shaking his head. He sighed and opened the drawer again to try and find the bottle opener, though in his opinion Naruto didn't need any more to drink. _

"_Sasuke…" he heard, soft and close to his ear. He looked up to tell Naruto that he should stop being so worried about Hokage and just forget about it, but he never got a chance. _

_Naruto's lips were pressed over his, warm, soft, and wet. Naruto's eyelashes were long and blond over his closed eyes as he kissed Sasuke gently, one hand coming up to hold onto Sasuke's arm. He smelled like beer and ramen, and his body felt like the sun, warm and pressing against Sasuke's, leaning him into the counter. _

_Sasuke's body reacted on instinct, sending a jolt of chakra-made electricity through his skin, shocking everywhere Naruto was touching. _

_The blond jumped back with a sound of surprise. He looked up to find Sasuke staring at him with wide, alarmed eyes. _

_Naruto's expression darkened; he grew frightened and shocked at his own actions. He slowly brought a hand up to cover his mouth, staring around Sasuke's kitchen like he just realized where he was. Then his gaze fell on Sasuke again—the Uchiha hadn't moved. _

"_You—" Sasuke rasped, touching a fingertip to his lips, still warm and parted from the surprise kiss. His head felt fuzzy, too warm, too bright. _

"_I—I'm sorry, Sasuke I—" he stuttered, face even redder than before. He started backing away, shaking his head, eyes wide with panic. _

"_Get out," Sasuke growled, feeling panic welling up inside him as well. He couldn't look at Naruto's face anymore. He glared angry red eyes at him and pointed towards the door. _

"_Sasuke—"_

"_Get out!" Sasuke repeated, heart in his throat, stomach full of lead. His head was buzzing, too much alcohol, too many confusing words and actions, he couldn't process, couldn't explain what just happened. He just knew he couldn't be around Naruto, not until he figured out why he was reacting this way. _

"_I'm sorry," Naruto whispered, fear and regret lacing his words, and with that he practically ran from Sasuke's apartment, throwing the front door open and slamming it closed behind him. _

Sasuke stood in his kitchen leaning against the same counter he'd been leaning against that night. He stared down at the bottle opener and took a sip of beer.

He'd lost track of the number of times he'd though about that night. It had been at least four years since then and he still obsessed over it, over how badly he'd ruined everything with just one action and a few stupid words.

His body had reacted automatically with the lightning—that wasn't his fault. He still could have salvaged it, could have said something to change it. Instead he'd just yelled at Naruto to leave, to get out. He'd made a mistake.

He made a drunken, stupid, impulsive mistake and he regretted it every day.

He'd met up with Naruto the next day; he came to Sasuke grinning and apologetic.

"_I was so drunk last night, Sasuke! It was an accident, I swear! Tell me you aren't still mad!"_

Sasuke could do nothing but roll his eyes, bury his feelings, and pretend like everything was okay—but it wasn't. Things were different between them after that.

And a week after he'd kissed Sasuke in his kitchen, Naruto started dating Hinata.

Sasuke made himself stay away from Naruto after the wedding. He knew he couldn't compete with her. She could give him everything he ever wanted—and she had. She'd given him a son, and love, and she'd probably been sweet and kind and never once tried to kill him, or chidori'd him when he tried to kiss her. She was better for Naruto than Sasuke would ever be, and no matter how much it hurt, he knew staying away was the right thing to do.

But now she was gone. There wasn't anything standing in Sasuke's way anymore—besides the fact that Naruto wouldn't want him, would probably never look at anyone the way he'd looked at Hinata.

Kakashi's words kept ringing through his head.

"_You aren't planning on involving yourself in Naruto's life again, are you?" _

Was he? A small, terrible part of him wanted to. _Maybe if she's gone, he can be mine. _ It was a terrible thing to think, the very worst, and yet he couldn't help himself. Ever since _that night_ a flame had been ignited inside him, a desire for Naruto beyond friendship, and despite doing everything he could to put it out it had maintained for four years, steadily burning. And with her death it somehow seemed stronger, like hope was the kindling it needed to grow.

He wanted to know what Naruto's lips felt like.

"_You aren't planning on involving yourself in Naruto's life again, are you?" _

Kakashi hadn't been asking out of pure curiosity; he knew that Sasuke had created distance between himself and Naruto after he got together with Hinata. He, like everyone, saw how Naruto flourished without his presence to bring him down. No one wanted him in Naruto's life.

They were probably right.

He should just keep his distance; it had been so long Naruto would continue not to notice. Things could stay the same and eventually Naruto would move on, his grief would pass, and he would raise his son to be just as strong and bright as he was. And Sasuke should let him, should leave him alone.

It was the right thing to do. Maybe, for once, Sasuke should try doing the right thing.

And yet—

There was a knock at his door. He scowled, settling his drink down and going to open it, wondering if there was some new information about Dorogakure and he was being sent back on a sudden mission to take care of it.

He wasn't expecting to see Naruto at his door, soaking wet and wearing nothing but a t-shirt and pants. He hated that his first thought was how good he looked.

"Sasuke!" he exclaimed, eyes still red from crying, but as big and blue as always.

"What are you doing here, Naruto?" Sasuke asked carefully. He still wasn't sure what to do. Was Naruto showing up at his apartment a sign?

"I uh, wanted to talk to you. It's late, sorry. Can I come in?" He had his hands in his pockets and shoulders hunched over. He looked cold.

Sasuke swallowed and nodded. He started leading Naruto towards the kitchen but stopped and turned towards the living room. The kitchen would be—it would be bad. Naruto sat on his knees and Sasuke sat across from him. It felt very formal. Whatever Naruto had to say seemed important from the serious look on his face and the way he held his back straight, staring nervously around the room before finally mumbling,

"You haven't changed much in here."

Sasuke blinked.

"I guess not."

Naruto looked up at him and attempted a smile. It fell from his face before it even spread to his eyes.

"I haven't, uh, been here in a while. I think you got more books!"

He looked at Sasuke's bookcase but Sasuke didn't follow his gaze. The rainwater had made Naruto's shirt stick to his skin and there were goosebumps up his arms. Sasuke should probably offer him a warm drink or a towel, but he can't move past the image of Naruto in his living room. It had been so long…

"What are you doing here, Naruto? What did you want to talk about?"

Naruto looked away, avoiding Sasuke's gaze. His shoulders were bunched and his wet bangs fell in his face. He sighed, taking in a deep breath.

"I miss you," he said, finally looking up, a sad smile lifting his lips. It was the same kind of smile Itachi used to give him, sad and trying so desperately to hide it.

"You see me all the time," Sasuke replied, somehow, though his mouth was dry and his throat closed off.

"It's not the same," Naruto shook his head. "I know we…fell apart. I know it was probably my fault. I didn't try harder to talk to you. I just let it happen and kept pretending like it wasn't happening—"

"Naruto—"

"—but I miss you! And I don't think I can do this anymore without you!"

"Naruto," Sasuke tried to keep his voice steady, to ignore all the things Naruto had left unsaid, to keep him from finding out how much hearing all those things meant. He had to rein this in, couldn't let it go to his head. "You're just upset because your wife is gone. You don't need me. You'll be fine."

Water droplets flew from his hair as he shook his head intently.

"You're wrong! This isn't just because of—because she's gone. I've missed you for a long time. I hated not talking to you and arguing with you and fighting with you! It felt like there was a part of my life missing! I thought I'd be okay with it but I'm _not_. I'm just _not_. You're my best friend and _I miss you_!"

Sasuke's mind was reeling. He'd really thought Naruto didn't notice his distance; he thought Naruto had moved on years ago, started his own life and was better off. Sasuke thought he was the only one still hurting, still waking up every day feeling empty.

"What do you want me to say?" he finally asked, voice soft. He was trying not to misinterpret Naruto's words. He missed Sasuke as a friend, a _best friend_, nothing else. But the flame of hope in his heart flickered stronger anyway.

"Just," he huffed, rubbing a hand over his eyes and though his damp hair, "don't stay so far away anymore. I know things were—they were _weird_ between us, and it's my fault, and I'm sorry! But just promise me you'll be my—my friend, again. You said you'd be by my side, you _promised_, and I need you there now, okay?"

He looked up defiantly into Sasuke's eyes, and that was the look that always drew Sasuke in, made him want to be a better person because Naruto wanted him to be. His resolve was crumbling looking into those determined eyes. It was like staring into the sun.

"Say you'll be my best friend again," he said, a pleading edge to his voice that hadn't been there before. It shot straight to Sasuke's heart. He closed his eyes.

"Okay," he agreed. When he opened his eyes Naruto's expression had gone lax, his entire posture was like he'd been holding his breath and finally he could let it out. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced than ever—he still hadn't slept. Had this been worrying his mind so much, with everything else that had happened?

"Alright," Sasuke added, nodding his head and standing. He reached down to help Naruto to his feet as well before the blond passed out on his living room floor. "I promise I won't keep my distance anymore."

"Sasuke," Naruto murmured, exhaustion written in every line of his body.

"Now get back home to your son," Sasuke said as he was pushing Naruto out the door. "He's probably wondering where you are."

He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, taking a long, deep breath in.

He had no idea what was going to happen next.

* * *

><p><strong>*** Reference to the japanese folk tale that says that if it rains while the sun is shining, a fox spirit is getting married.<strong>


	3. Father and Son

CHAPTER 3: Father and Son

It had been five days since Naruto had shown up at his apartment late at night, drenched in rain and begging Sasuke to be his friend again. Sasuke was still having a hard time believing it really happened.

Why had Naruto come to him? It was so sudden and unexpected—Sasuke could never have been prepared for it. He thought for sure it was going to change everything, but it had been five days since then and Sasuke had yet to see Naruto once.

He was trying to be okay with it. In fact, he kept telling himself that it was for the best. Naruto probably just panicked after his wife's funeral and was looking for someone to turn to. Old habits die hard, and he came to Sasuke. It didn't mean anything.

"_You aren't planning on involving yourself in Naruto's life again, are you?" _

He wasn't going to involve himself in Naruto's life. He'd made up his mind; he was going to stay away. For Naruto's sake and for his own.

…Which was why he was hiding behind a candy display at the grocery store as two blond's shopped their way down the instant meal isle.

"Hmmmm," the taller blond hummed thoughtfully, staring at the shelf. He spotted something and gasped, bending to pick it up and put it in his cart. "I don't think we've tried this one, Nori! What do you think? How about we get, uhhh, seven? One for every day of the week."

Sasuke couldn't believe his luck. He'd gone out for groceries at the usual time: late in the evening, far later than a young child should be out buying groceries with his father. _She_ would never have brought him to the grocery store so late—but Naruto probably didn't know any better.

He didn't want to see them together, didn't want to see them at all. He'd made up his mind that he was going to leave Naruto alone. Surely he had enough to deal with, suddenly having to raise a child on his own. He didn't need Sasuke in his life bringing complication and unnecessary grief. Didn't need Sasuke in his life, with his selfish desires and thoughts he just couldn't squash.

And yet there he was, shopping in Sasuke's grocery store with his son like he was laughing in the face of Sasuke's firm determination to stay away. But Sasuke wasn't going to give up that easily, which was why he was hiding behind a display instead of revealing himself and becoming even more involved in Naruto's life. Sure, if he'd really wanted to he could have left the moment he saw a flash of blond hair. But… he _did_ need groceries, and maybe he had been thinking a bit (_a lot_) about how both father and son were doing.

"Dad, I don't want noodles every night!" A quiet voice rose from the isle. Sasuke blinked in surprise, realizing that it was the very first time he'd ever really heard Naruto's son speak. His voice was small, but not stuttering or shy like he always acted around Sasuke. There was quiet determination in that little voice, like he was already used to shouting up at his father in order to be heard. Nori's voice sounded like paper crumpling or the creak of a floorboard at night: only loud if everything else around was quiet.

"Whaaat? These aren't just noodles. See, there's broth and some vegetables and—"

"What bout real veggies? I want stir fry!"

"S—stir fry?" Naruto murmured, and Sasuke peeked around to find him rubbing anxiously at the back of his head, staring down at his small son. Nori had his hands on his hips, pouting with an expression of utmost seriousness at his father. Naruto looked lost, like his son was asking him to accomplish an impossible task. Was stir-fry really that frightening?

Something horribly sad crossed over Naruto's features but was gone quickly enough that the young boy wouldn't have noticed it. Sasuke did notice it.

"I don't think it would be good if I tried to make stir-fry. Remember last time dad tried to cook?" he pointed to himself, grinning. The boy's eyes went wide and he nodded.

"No cooking for Daddy," he agreed, voice even smaller than before. Naruto nodded with mock seriousness and Sasuke rolled his eyes. He could imagine the kind of destruction Naruto might wreak if someone allowed him into the kitchen. Hinata had probably been cleaning for days.

He turned away, clenching his fists.

Naruto and his son, they had real memories together. Emotions and habits that came from spending quality time, all three: father and mother and son. Sasuke had no right to "involve himself" in those preset rhythms and patterns. He would only be a disturbance, would serve as a reminder to both of them that they were missing something. He couldn't do that to them.

"How about we get these for later," Naruto said, tossing the instant noodle meals into their basket that Sasuke reluctantly noted was filled with similar unhealthy, instant items. He started to turn away. He would just buy the items he already had and go home. Naruto would never know he was there and things could go back to normal.

"And we can have Ichiraku for dinner tonight!" Naruto added brightly. The checkout was just in front of him and Naruto would never see him. If he could just get his legs to move, to take him away before—

"Ichiraku again, Dad? We ate there every day this week!"

Sasuke took a deep breath and turned the corner into the isle where father and son were standing.

"I thought I heard your loud voice over here, Naruto."

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke didn't know what he was doing, but he figured he might as well pretend like he did until he eventually figured it out. As if on cue, as soon as he spotted Sasuke, Nori scampered behind his father's leg, holding onto the fabric of his pants and looking up at Sasuke with big white eyes from underneath his yellow bangs. Sasuke's stomach sank a bit; he didn't know why he thought Nori wouldn't be so scared of him after he'd saved him from the monsters in his head. The child had been so confused and terrified he should have known nothing that happened that night would make any difference. He didn't know why it bothered him so much.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, like the grocery store was the last place he would have expected to meet Sasuke. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him, lifting his basket of items.

"Buying food? I would say you're doing the same, but looking into your cart I can't say that any of that could actually be considered _food_."

Naruto looked to his cart and then back at Sasuke, glaring. Nori continued to stare at Sasuke, his eyes unnervingly unblinking.

"This is perfectly good food! Right, Nori—eh? What's wrong?" The boy had started tugging on his father's pants, trying to get his attention. Naruto frowned and bent down so the boy could whisper in his ear. Sasuke turned towards the shelf—the image of Naruto and his son was doing something to him that he couldn't explain or control. Seeing the boy standing on his toes to speak in his father's ear as Naruto listened with rapt attention was too much to look at.

"A hero?" Naruto replied to his son's whispering. "No, he's just a jerk! What do you mean? Scary eyes? Well yeah I guess, but—"

Sasuke's mouth twitched. He didn't know why the boy was acting too shy to talk when he'd been fine a minute ago. He must have been more afraid of Sasuke than he originally thought. Maybe the incident with the beasts made it even worse—it was hard to explain how he'd been able to see inside the child's mind. He could still remember how the boy's arms had wrapped around him, squeezing tight.

He thought about her again and closed his eyes. Why was he doing this? He'd said he was going to stay away, and yet here he was, interfering in Naruto's life again. As if he hadn't done enough already…

"How old is he?" Sasuke found himself asking, distracting Naruto and Nori from the conversation they'd been quietly having. Naruto stood, resting a hand on top of Nori's head.

"Tell Sasuke how old you are," he said gently. Nori curled his hands tighter into the fabric of his father's pants.

"T—three," he peeped, voice like a bird.

"And a half!" Naruto added loudly and proudly, holding up three fingers and grinning. Nori buried his face into the back of Naruto's leg.

Sasuke had figured it was like that. It had been about four years since _that night_, and Nori had been born not long after Hinata and Naruto started dating.

"Hey, sorry I haven't been around this week," Naruto murmured, rubbing the back of his head. Sasuke's face hid the surprise he felt. "I said we should hang out some more and then I wasn't around! Gaara was in town until this morning and he was helping me move. Nori and I didn't want to stay where…" he trailed off and Sasuke had to distract him before both father and son got those lost, pitiful looks on their faces.

"Don't worry about it. I was busy too. We can hang out now if you want. I was just about to go home and make dinner."

"What are you making?"

Sasuke pursed his lips, hesitating before finally answering,

"Stir-fry."

Blue and white eyes flew open. Nori tugged on his father's pant leg again, insistently.

"Dad!" he whispered, looking from Sasuke to his father expectantly. Sasuke stood in the isle uncomfortable. What was he doing?

"You were probably planning on getting ramen tonight," he said. Naruto flinched. "You never could cook anything but instant."

"I can make eggs now!" Naruto bit back, and Sasuke smirked. He'd missed this—the easy back and forth with Naruto. He really was Sasuke's best friend. No one else would bother putting up with him for so long. It was only because Naruto was so willfully determined that he stayed around.

Had it really been three and half years since he'd spoken with Naruto like this? Three and half years since he started answering all of Naruto's questions with one word and "Hokage-sama"? Three years since he made himself stop looking at Naruto because seeing him so happy and without him hurt too much?

It was like everything crashed over him at once—he _missed_ Naruto. He missed bickering and joking and fighting and the _alive_ feeling of being with Naruto, like when they were together everything was the way it was meant to be. He missed seeing Naruto's smile directed at him and it hurt because now he wanted so much more.

For once he pushed the guilt aside, didn't think about her or what was best or what was the right thing to do: he just thought about what _he_ wanted.

"Do you want stir-fry for dinner instead of ramen? I'm already making it for myself anyway."

Naruto's eyes went wide with surprise, and the child still insistently pulling on him repeated a little louder,

"_Dad_!"

It seemed like it took Naruto extra effort to pull his gaze away from Sasuke and down to his son. Nori motioned for him to come down and he did, so the child could whisper in his ear again. This time he wasn't quiet enough for Sasuke not to hear.

"_He's got vegebles in his basket, Dad_!"

Naruto turned back to Sasuke, staring with an odd expression at Sasuke's basket that was, indeed, filled with "vegebles." He looked up at Sasuke with those same wide eyes and strange expression, then back at his son, who nodded at him soundlessly. He stood and turned to Sasuke, unsure as he asked,

"A—are you sure, Sasuke? You don't have to. I know it's—" he glanced at his son, like he wasn't sure what Sasuke thought of him. It was true that Nori had never been a part of their relationship before, but for now Sasuke didn't mind. He knew that if he was going to have Naruto, his son with blank eyes and blond hair and soft voice and mysterious monsters inside his head was going to be there too.

"Hn," he replied with a sneer, walking towards the checkout. "You're paying."

* * *

><p>The process of buying groceries took a bit longer than expected and was an experience Sasuke would not soon forget.<p>

They had to get a few more items because of the added two people and before they even reached the produce section they'd been stopped by villagers three times, giving their condolences and commenting on how big Naruto's son was getting.

"He's going to be big and strong just like his father," one woman said with tears in her eyes, thinking about Hinata as she stared between father and son.

Naruto was always gracious to them, smiling and thanking them with a small bow. If they spoke to Nori he shyly replied—though Sasuke noticed that he wasn't nearly as shy around most strangers as he was around Sasuke. He was polite and looked them in the eyes, though his words sounded like they were practiced. Sasuke had never thought about what it must be like to be the village hero's son. All he'd ever known was pity from the adults around him. Nori had such a different experience as a child than either he or Naruto—and yet he'd still been forced to witness his mother's death before his very eyes.

The world was still cruel, no matter the generation. Sasuke only hoped it wouldn't scar Naruto's son the way it had scarred him.

By the time they made it through the checkout and on the way to Sasuke's apartment it was almost 9:30. He asked Naruto as they turned the corner to his house,

"Why were you shopping so late? Shouldn't you be in bed?" Nori was the one he thought should really be asleep, but he wasn't going to comment on Naruto's parenting. What did he know about it?

Naruto glanced down at his son, who had insisted on carrying one small bag himself, and frowned.

"We… couldn't sleep," he said, and Sasuke dropped the subject.

When they arrived at the apartment Naruto told his son to sit in the living room while he "helped" Sasuke start the meal. By helping, he really just stood in the doorway and watched as Sasuke turned on the stove and poured some oil in the pan.

"Will he be okay in there?" Sasuke asked. He didn't want the kid to be bored. He really had no idea what kids liked; it was bothering him. This was one thing he really didn't know how to do.

"He's fine," Naruto answered, brushing him off. "He's used to being by himself. I don't know why but he doesn't have a lot of friends."

"Maybe because he's so quiet," Sasuke answered. It sounded like it bothered Naruto to think that his son was a loner. Sasuke didn't think it should bother him so much, considering they were both the same at his age. Then again, Naruto had always been the one _wanting_ friends. Sasuke was the real loner of their age group.

The blond gave him a strange look.

"Quiet?" he asked, tilting his head. He shrugged and brushed it off before Sasuke could point out that Nori hadn't said a single word since they'd left the grocery store. "I hope Shikamaru and Temari really stay for a while this time. Did you know they were back?"

"Yeah. They have a daughter Nori's age, don't they?"

"Yeah, Shishika! And Asume is only a few years older, and Temari is pregnant again! Shika's terrified it's gonna be another girl!"

Sasuke smirked. He'd seen his old classmate with his daughters before. They seemed to have him, as the phrase goes, "by the balls." He could imagine Shikamaru dreading a third one.

"Nori and Shishika met when they were really little but they don't remember each other. I hope they'll be friends now that Shika and Temari are moving back."

Sasuke threw the chopped vegetables into the pan and it sizzled. He stirred effortlessly and cast a quick glance at Naruto. It was strange to have him in his kitchen again. He tried not to think about that night, but he couldn't help but see Naruto leaning against his counter with hooded eyes and a drunken blush tinting his cheeks.

The Naruto in his kitchen now wasn't drunk or blushing—he just looked exhausted.

"_We… couldn't sleep."_

Sasuke had the feeling Naruto wasn't just referring to tonight. He wondered when the last time father and son got a full night's sleep.

He couldn't help but picture the small, terrified child, curled up in a ball amidst a circle of monsters and he gestured towards the living room and lightly asked,

"How is he doing?"

Naruto's face fell and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"He has okay moments. It's not good when we're just sitting around. It's better when we're doing something else."

Sasuke understood that perfectly. When he'd been young and the memories of the massacre threatened to overwhelm him he would throw himself into training, punching trees until his knuckles bled and using up his chakra until there was just nothing left. Sometimes it helped.

He looked away from the sizzling pan again, catching Naruto's eye for half a second before turning back and adding gently,

"How are you doing?"

The blond took so long answering that Sasuke took the pan off the burner and turned it off to look back at Naruto. He was staring at Sasuke like he couldn't believe he was real.

"You know, you're the first person who's asked me that."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as Naruto lowered his gaze again. What was that look in Naruto's eyes before? It had been more powerful than he expected.

He saw Naruto's fists clench at his sides.

"I'm just… mad!" he finally answered, exhaling frustration. "I'm mad at the—the world! It's unfair! _She didn't deserve to die_!"

The last part he whispered so his son in the other room wouldn't hear. Sasuke sighed, wishing there was something he could do. He didn't know how to act in this situation—and he felt like he was the worst person in the world for Naruto to be complaining to, considering his own twisted thought-process tied to her death. Yet he still felt like he had to give Naruto something, something to show Naruto that all his anger at the unfairness of the world was justified and natural.

"None of them deserved to die," he replied flatly. He didn't need to specify who "they" were. Naruto understood—"they" were everyone. Every last Uchiha and both of their parents and Itachi and Jiraiya and every single person who wasn't supposed to die, who didn't deserve it.

A pained look crossed Naruto's face. He was trying to keep from crying, so Sasuke looked away, busied himself finishing the stir-fry and portioning it out onto plates.

"Gaara," Naruto began, voice shaky but without sobbing, "said I can't blame myself, but—"

"Naruto, don't—"

"I should have been with them, Sasuke! I have all this power—we got all this _stupid fucking power_ and for what? I couldn't even protect my own family!"

"Nori is still here," Sasuke told him, taking a step towards Naruto. The blond looked up and there was so much trust in those dazzling blue eyes for a moment Sasuke couldn't believe it had been so long since they had spoken like this. It felt like no time had passed at all since he'd promised Naruto to stay by his side as he rose to the title of Hokage, since he and Naruto fought their last battle and Naruto had finally gotten through to him. They could still be the little 12 year old genin they were when they met, protecting each other at the cost of nearly their lives.

Sasuke tried, for once, believing that he was deserving of all the trust Naruto put in him.

"Nori is still here, Naruto. Don't forget that," he said, and Naruto listened. "This is coming from someone who knows: don't obsess over the past. You can be sad and angry, but don't let it consume you. Concentrate on the future and someday it'll… get easier."

Naruto blinked, staring at Sasuke like it was the first time he was seeing him. He seemed startled when he realized he'd started crying. He quickly wiped away the tears, glancing out towards the living room and then back to Sasuke. He was giving Sasuke that strange look again, the one Sasuke just couldn't place.

"You're a good motivational speaker," he finally said, joking lightly.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, glad for the break in tension.

"Don't get used to it," he replied, handing Naruto plates of stir-fry. "We can eat in the living room. Go ahead and start. I'm going to make tea."

Naruto took the plates somehow without dropping them and Sasuke didn't miss the quick glance back Naruto gave before walking through the doorway. He told himself the flutter in his chest was just from the conversation they'd just had, but he was a liar.

He'd just set the pot on the stove when he heard from the other room,

"Oi, Sasuke, do you have a cat?"

* * *

><p>"He's not <em>my<em> cat. I don't have a cat."

Two pairs of eyes looked over at him uncertainly as the cat wound it's way between his legs, tail wrapping around his thigh as it rubbed it's head against his foot.

"Are you… sure, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, staring up at Sasuke like he was worried Sasuke just couldn't _see_ the cat. Sasuke glared at him.

"I don't have a cat," he repeated, though the effect of the statement was somewhat diminished when he placed a bowl of cat food on the floor at his feet and the animal meowed happily up at him and began eating.

It was a mangy thing, huge and all black with a tail twice the length of his body. He had scars and patches of missing hair all over—there seemed to be more every week. He was a fighter; Sasuke thought he fought dogs because other cats were no match for him. He always won anyway. At least, he always came back.

It was about two years ago that he first snuck into Sasuke's apartment through an open window. Sasuke had woken up to find him bleeding on his kitchen floor with a mouse dangling from his mouth dripping _even more blood_ onto the tile.

He'd picked him up and tossed him out, but he'd been back a week later. This time he brought Sasuke a baby rabbit, left it at his bedroom door and was cleaning himself on the couch when Sasuke found him. He'd tossed him out again and thought for sure that would be the end of it. The next day he woke up to find a snake the length of his katana dead and lying on his windowsill and the cat curled up against his leg.

Sasuke didn't bother tossing him out after that. Over time they formed something of a relationship: the cat could come and go as he pleased and Sasuke would scratch his ears until he purred as he read in the evenings. He bought the first bag of cat food on accident and only put it out when the cat showed up, which was about every week or so.

He was _not_ Sasuke's cat. Sasuke _did not_ have a cat.

"Oooh, Nori! I think he likes you!" Naruto said as the cat wrapped its tail around the child's head. He smiled and pet a line down his back. Sasuke ignored them as he ate his dinner.

"What's his name?"

"Doesn't have one," Sasuke grunted. Not his cat.

"He's tough," Nori said, voice tiny and shy. He seemed very content to pet the cat with one hand and eat his stir-fry with the other. Apparently he'd been petting the cat for several minutes while Sasuke and Naruto were in the kitchen. Sasuke hoped the thing didn't have any diseases.

"Should we call him that?" Naruto asked his son, grinning. Nori shook his head.

"His name is Muchi," he said quietly, giggling a bit when the cat tickled his nose with the tip of his tail. Sasuke sighed in defeat, taking a sip of tea. Its tail _did_ look like a whip.

"Have you gone back to your Hokage duties yet?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Kakashi says it'll be soon but he won't tell me when! I'm still Hokage technically, they just don't want me to go back to work until I'm 'ready,' whatever that means."

"They're just trying to protect you," Sasuke explained, thinking about his conversation with Kakashi at the funeral a week or so before.

"I can protect myself!" he replied stubbornly. He was still as much of a child as always, despite having had a child of his own. Sasuke used to find it annoying but somehow it had become endearing. It probably happened sometime around the time of _that night_… A lot of things he'd thought about Naruto changed after that.

He tried to glance surreptitiously across the table as he finished off his dinner. Despite the tired bags beneath his eyes and the lackluster sheen to his skin Sasuke had to admit Naruto looked good.

He had matured and filled out even more over the years and though Sasuke saw him often enough to notice it he had never looked this closely before. Naruto's hair was a bit shorter and his face more masculine. There was something attractive about his features beyond that, the way he held himself and the shine he got in his eyes when he looked at his son. Fatherhood was a good look for him.

Sasuke blinked, surprised at himself. He turned his gaze to his plate and frowned. Was he really checking Naruto out right across the table from him? In front of his son? He swallowed and ignored the thoughts that tried to bubble up.

"Sasuke?" he jerked his head up to find Naruto staring at him apologetically.

"What—" he started to ask, then noticed that Nori was fast asleep on the floor, the cat, now apparently named Muchi, curled in his lap.

"Sorry about that," Naruto smiled, rubbing the back of his head. He was talking softly, careful not to wake the sleeping child. "I can't believe he fell asleep like that. He hasn't been sleeping well lately. He keeps saying something's keeping him up in his head? I'm worried he's thinking about, you know…" he trailed off, suddenly sad. Sasuke nodded.

"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, voice light. His eyes were curious, puzzled.

"Hn?"

"Why did you offer to make us dinner?"

Sasuke stared at him, blinking before replying easily,

"I couldn't let you keep feeding a child toxic waste in good conscience. And he didn't seem to want Ichiraku either."

Naruto didn't seem completely satisfied with that answer, and Sasuke didn't want him pressing the issue so he stood and collected the plates off the table to go into the kitchen to wash them.

"Is that really the only reason?" Naruto still managed to ask before he stepped through the kitchen door. Sasuke looked back over his shoulder at Naruto who was sitting on the floor and staring at Sasuke calculatingly, like he was trying to solve a puzzle. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What other reason would I have, idiot?"

Naruto continued staring at him for a moment before finally shrugging and looking away. He yawned and stretched his arms over his head.

"Nevermind then."

Sasuke finally went into the kitchen and started washing the dishes. His mind kept turning over the evening as he scrubbed the pan and the plates. He'd said he wasn't going to involve himself in Naruto's life but that's exactly what he did—yet he couldn't find it in himself to regret it.

"_Why did you offer to make us dinner?" _

Why had he revealed himself in that grocery store in the first place? He kept thinking about Naruto's face when he'd been talking to Nori in that grocery isle, when he'd admitted to being angry at the unfairness in the world, and when he'd smiled across from Sasuke at dinner.

He finished washing everything and set it on the rack to dry, walking back into the living room to offer Naruto a place to sleep for himself if he didn't want to wake Nori.

He entered the room only to find that Naruto was already asleep, head lying sideways on the cushion of the couch with one hand resting on his son's arm.

Sasuke sucked in a breath of air and closed his eyes. He exhaled slowly and went into his closet to find an extra blanket. He laid it over both blonds, eyes lingering briefly on Naruto's lips before he pulled back and shook his head.

"_Why did you offer to make us dinner?" _

"Because you looked like you were going to cry over stir-fry, idiot."

* * *

><p><strong>Muchi - because the cat's tail looks like a whip. <strong>

**Wow! I love how much feedback this story is getting! Next update might take a bit, but not too long, I promise! Thanks for all the reviews and everything guys!**


	4. Find What He Likes

CHAPTER 4: Find What He Likes

Sasuke dreamt of the past.

He dreamt of the cold, stale air in Orochimaru's hideouts and the way eyes followed him wherever he went. He dreamt of fire and Itachi's Susanoo and ravens. He dreamt of Naruto's voice shouting "I don't give up on my friends!" and grinning with a bloody mouth and a bruised cheek.

He dreamt of Naruto's eyes, the scent of the sun, tanned skin. He dreamt of Naruto's lips soft against his.

He woke to the smell of eggs.

He sat up and got dressed quickly. He'd forgotten that Naruto and his son had slept at his house the night before. Though it had been _hard_ to forget that fact last night, lying in bed and trying not to think about Naruto sleeping peacefully in the other room. He wondered if that was why he'd had such strange dreams.

"Finally you're up!" Naruto teased when he entered the kitchen.

"It's _my_ house. I can sleep as late as I want," Sasuke replied grumpily. Though when he did look at the clock he had to admit it was later than he usually slept. He wished he knew how long the two blonds in his kitchen had been awake.

Nori was sitting at the kitchen table, his feet swinging above the floor. His eyes went wide when he noticed Sasuke staring at him. Sasuke felt his stomach sink a bit; he'd hoped the night before might have warmed the child to him a little more.

"Good morning," he said, careful not to sound scary or intimidating. He usually didn't care about those things but for some reason he wanted Naruto's son to like him—or at least not act so shy and stuttering around him. He'd been fine hugging Sasuke the night he rescued him but ever since then it was like Sasuke was still a stranger, no matter what he did.

Sure enough Nori avoided his gaze upon being addressed, twisting his jacket in his fists and staring at the ground while replying timidly,

"G—good morning."

"Nori! Why are you messing with your jacket like that?" Naruto asked, obliviously sprinkling pepper into a pan. "Do you have to pee?"

The child nodded, slight pink tinting his cheeks.

"Ohh, that makes sense! It's down the hall on the left. Make sure to tighten the hot water handle all the way or it leaks."

The little blond nodded and hopped down from the chair, padding towards the bathroom. Sasuke had forgotten how much Naruto knew about his house, down to which knobs in his bathroom leak if they aren't tightened. Before _that night_ and everything that happened he'd spent a lot of time at Sasuke's apartment. He would jus show up randomly and when Sasuke complained he just said that if he didn't come over to visit then he'd never see Sasuke again. He was probably right.

"I got that fixed, you know," he said, putting on a pot of tea and staring at the eggs Naruto was preparing on the stove.

"What?"

"The leaking sink in the bathroom."

He'd gotten a lot of things done once Naruto wasn't a part of his life anymore. So much of his time had been taken up spending it with Naruto and he didn't notice it until it stopped. Once Naruto was gone he had to fill all the empty spaces he'd left, find ways to keep going without the company of Naruto Uzumaki to spur him on.

He spent a good amount of time doing housework. He fixed the leaky faucet in the bathroom and a leaky part of the roof above the bedroom closet. He repainted the walls and re-tiled the floors. When some kids broke one of his windows he decided to replace all of them and install the new ones himself. Every creaky door and floorboard was fixed, then he sanded his coffee and kitchen tables and stained them to look brand-new.

All of this was within the first three months of Naruto's marriage.

Sakura would come over sometimes and whenever she noticed a new repair or upgrade to his apartment she gave him a knowing look that he willfully ignored. He didn't want to admit to her that the home repair hobby was what he spent the least of his time doing—most of it was dedicated to thinking and overthinking about _that night_ until every little detail was as familiar as the blood running through his veins.

"Really?" Naruto asked, surprised. His expression softened and he smiled sadly at the floor. Sasuke frowned. "I guess it has been a few years…"

When Naruto had come asking to be friends again he'd almost sounded guilty, like he was the one who ruined their friendship when Sasuke knew for a fact nothing would have changed if he hadn't let it. He'd spent the days after _that night_ debating whether he should tell Naruto how the kiss affected him. They were drunk, Sasuke couldn't deny that truth, but it wasn't like Naruto was so drunk he didn't know who Sasuke was. Did he get carried away by the mood? Was he so drunk he would have kissed anyone? Had he thought about kissing Sasuke before?

All this hope was burning inside Sasuke's chest, and even when Naruto announced he was going on a date with Hinata Sasuke hadn't been that worried. Naruto had waited for him for years—could Hinata say the same?

And yet more and more time passed and any sign that Naruto might have given him to hint that the kiss was more than just a drunken accident never appeared. Sasuke's hope slowly faded, turned to self-doubt and regret that he didn't do something sooner. When Naruto told him he was getting married Sasuke knew he missed his chance and that both he and Naruto would be better off if they didn't interact, at least not with Sasuke's unresolved feelings between them.

Maybe he was wrong, after all.

"You and Nori can come over for dinner another night, if you want."

"Really?" he asked, looking up suddenly with eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Sure," Sasuke shrugged. "I don't want you starving the kid. Hinata wouldn't be very happy with you if you did."

He knew it was cruel of him to speak her name so soon, but he couldn't stand that sad look on Naruto's face. For so long, Naruto always smiled when he was around Sasuke, and maybe he took it for granted and maybe he missed it after all these years, but he knew that he needed it now, like he needed light to see. He wouldn't be the one to stand aside and let Naruto wallow in his grief. Naruto wouldn't be the one standing staring at a grave every day and dreaming of what could have been. Sasuke owed him that much.

Sasuke continued, pretending not to notice the expression of shock in Naruto's face, or hear the way his breath sucked in at the sound of her name,

"Don't expect me to do anything else for you, though. You can wash your own clothes and iron your own underwear."

"I—I know how to wash my clothes, asshole! You never forget stuff like that!"

Sasuke smirked, glad his ploy worked.

"Bold words from someone who can't even make eggs without burning them," he said, nodding to the smoking pan.

Naruto's face fell and he scrambled to salvage the un-burnt bits of egg, diving them into three parts and putting them on plates. Sasuke poured the boiling water into a mug and sat at the kitchen table. Naruto grumpily slammed a plate in front of him and sat in the chair opposite him. He took a bite of eggs and grimaced.

"You let me burn those on purpose," he accused.

"Don't blame others for your mistakes," Sasuke replied sagely. Naruto rolled his eyes. "You know you're going to have to learn how to cook at some point, right?"

"These eggs taste fine, and I don't know what you're talking about. If we come over for dinner here once a week, and go to Iruka-sensei's place another night, and maybe Sakura will make us dinner one night, and we visit Neji another night, and then Hiashi and Hanabi, that makes," he counted them off on his hand, holding up his fingers to show Sasuke his well thought-out plan, "Five meals! And we can eat Ichiraku for two days and I won't have to cook!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the confident grin Naruto had spread across his face.

"First of all, who said you could eat here once a week? I said you could come over again, not every week. I won't even be here every week—I still have missions. Secondly, you can't just rely on other people for food. Nori will start to get tired of going to other people's houses."

"Mehhh, Sasuke, he'll be fine! This is a great plan. Besides, Nori likes going over to people's houses. He liked playing with your cat last night."

"I don't have a cat."

As if summoned, the cat strolled into the kitchen with its head and impossibly long tail held high. He rubbed his head first against Sasuke's leg and then Naruto's, all the while Sasuke glared at Naruto's knowing smile from across the table. Eventually Sasuke sighed and looked away.

"You should at least know how to make rice. Anyone can make rice."

Naruto looked like he was about to reply but that was when Nori appeared again, brightening when he saw the cat in the middle of the kitchen. Naruto intercepted him on his way to pet the animal, picking him up easily and swinging him in the air, earning a reluctant-sounding giggle before finally holding the boy carefully against his hip. He rested his forehead against his son's and smiled.

Sasuke had to look away; the image of the two of them together made his heart ache for something he didn't know he wanted. They looked like _home_.

He swallowed. They were _her_ home, not his.

"What do you say, Aonori?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke wondered whether it was a nickname or a full name. "We promised we would visit Uncle Neji today, didn't we?"

The boy nodded silently. Sasuke looked over just in time to catch the mischievous glint in Naruto's eyes as he added carefully, "Maaaybe, if you ask him really nicely, Uncle Neji will get you some…" he whispered the last part Nori's ear so Sasuke couldn't hear, but the next thing he knew the boy was scrambling down from his father's arms and racing towards the front door.

"Dad! Come on! Dad, let's go! We have to meet Uncle Neji!" Naruto chuckled to himself, turning to Sasuke and looking exhausted all over again.

Suddenly Sasuke didn't want to let him leave.

He wanted to spend more time with him—they'd only had a little while to talk the night before and it seemed the morning would be cut short too. Sasuke had finally decided he was going to be in Naruto's life again and he wanted to really be in it this time. He wasn't going to let Naruto slip away again. He was going to be there for Naruto—and his son—no matter what that meant.

"Sorry about the eggs, Sasuke," Naruto grinned, trying not to let his exhaustion and stress show. Sasuke stood, carefully placing a hand on Naruto's arm. The blond's eyes shot open in surprise.

"Tell me if you need anything," he said lowly, suddenly aware of how close he and Naruto were standing, and in his kitchen of all places. Naruto stared at him for what seemed like a long time, then blinked and moved back, towards the front door.

"I will," he answered, averting his gaze. "Thanks for… thanks for last night."

Sasuke nodded and walked Naruto to the front door where Nori was standing practically vibrating with energy.

"Dad!" he said, tugging on Naruto's hand.

"Say thank you to Sasuke for letting us sleep here," Naruto told him in what Sasuke was quickly learning was Naruto's "Dad Voice."

And just like that, all of Nori's excited, outgoing energy vanished. When he turned to Sasuke he was shy again, unable to look in Sasuke's eyes.

"T—thank you," he said, voice tiny and timid. He gave a small bow and tugged at the bottom of his jacket anxiously.

Sasuke had gotten his hopes up again only to have them dashed—Nori still wasn't comfortable around him. He was still a stranger.

"You're welcome," he replied, and watched as the boy reached out for his father's pants and held onto them until they were outside of the apartment and on their way.

* * *

><p>"Ah, Sasuke. I wouldn't have thought to run into you today."<p>

Iruka was older and in Sasuke's opinion he looked it. There were laugh lines in the corners of his eyes and frown lines near his eyebrows and he always heard others say their old teacher looked about ten years older than he was. Most blamed it on Naruto—stress from dealing with Konoha's number on unpredictable ninja.

Still, he smiled pleasantly when he spotted Sasuke on a quiet street near the Hokage Tower. He had Nori with him and, as expected, the child hid himself behind the teacher's leg as soon as he spotted Sasuke.

The elder seemed rather surprised, raising his eyebrows and looking down at the child clinging shyly to him and avoiding Sasuke's gaze. Sasuke was disappointed again, though he didn't know why. Naruto's son was scared of him; that was all. It wasn't all that surprising if he was being honest with himself. He didn't give off a friendly vibe, even when he was trying.

"I was just going to meet with Kakashi," he said.

"Ah, Naruto is talking with him now. He asked me to watch Nori while they argu—discussed when he would be returning to his title."

Sasuke smirked and Iruka gave a faint smile. Watching Naruto and Kakashi argue was always amusing. Kakashi generally had the upper hand, but at some point Naruto thought to start using Icha Icha as leverage—Kakashi's one true weakness.

"Nori," he said, leaning down and placing a hand on the child's shoulder. "Did you say hello to Sasuke?"

"He—hello—o," he stuttered, averting his eyes and toying with the bottom of his jacket. Iruka smiled apologetically.

"He's not usually this shy."

Sasuke begged to differ. The only time he thought he'd seen Nori relax around him was when he'd been petting the cat, and once he noticed Sasuke watching him he went back to anxiously pulling on his jacket.

"Do you watch him often?" Sasuke found himself asking. Iruka' smile faltered.

"More lately," he replied, and Sasuke nodded. He could figure out easily what that meant. "To be honest he's always sort of felt like a grandson. Gosh… that makes me feel old."

"You practically adopted Naruto years ago," Sasuke reminded him. "He should be like a grandson."

"I suppose you're right. We were just going into town to get something special, weren't we?" he asked Nori, smiling again. Nori's pale eyes widened, just like they had when Naruto had whispered something in his ear the other day. Sasuke was curious what it was that could make Nori react that way. He almost seemed like Naruto when someone offered to buy him ramen.

The boy nodded his head and Iruka waved goodbye as they started walking off. Sasuke frowned—something about Nori's appearance bothered him. It clicked as he was halfway up to the Hokage office.

The bags under Nori's eyes were still there, maybe even darker than they had been before.

He still wasn't sleeping.

* * *

><p>Naruto was just leaving the office when Sasuke reached it. He nearly tackled Sasuke to the ground if Sasuke hadn't been quick enough to get out of the way.<p>

"Sasuke!" he shouted as soon as he realized who he'd almost run over. "I'm going back to Hokage duties tomorrow!"

"Congratulations," Sasuke replied, still not quite used to speaking with Naruto like this again. He'd spent so long avoiding any friendly conversation that now it didn't come easy. He had to work at it.

"Kakashi wanted me to take more time off, but I've been working on a plan with some other Kages to repopulate Uzushiogakure and I don't want to keep them waiting. What are you doing here?"

"Kakashi summoned me," he replied. "Or, the Hokage did—so maybe it was you?"

"Ah!" Naruto nodded and switched to his 'Hokage Naruto' mode. "You have a mission."

Sasuke tensed instantly.

"Dorogakure again?" Surely Kakashi wouldn't let Naruto be involved if it were the Mud nin who were responsible for her death were involved. But Naruto shook his head, frowning and staring at Sasuke like he was worried Sasuke knew more than he did. Sasuke never should have said anything; from the look on Naruto's face it was almost as if he'd already forgotten that she'd been _murdered_. To him she was just dead, that was tragedy enough.

"You still have a summoning contract with the snakes, don't you?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke would admit he hadn't expected that question.

"I don't think it expires," though he wasn't completely sure. It wasn't as though he signed the summoning contract because he particularly wanted to—Orochimaru had offered it and he knew it would make him stronger, so he did it. After he signed the contract with the Hawks he rarely used the snakes anymore.

"Why?"

"There's a nest in the mountains near Takigakure that's been causing trouble. We're sending you to talk with them and keep them out of trouble."

A mission so far away from the village, and one Sasuke could surely accomplish in his sleep?

"Why don't they just send someone from Takigakure?"

"Because some of those snakes are huge! And creepy… I wouldn't wanna have to go talk to them."

_Says the shinobi with a contract with _frogs_. _He considered it for a moment, then shrugged and turned to walk back down the stairs. He clearly didn't need to speak with Kakashi after all.

"No, I don't think I'll take the mission."

He wished he could have seen the expression on Naruto's face. Instead he just heard the sputtering as Naruto processed what he'd said and hurried to catch up with him.

"It's not a _request_, teme!"

Sasuke's heartbeat stuttered and he paused, just short enough so Naruto wouldn't notice. The nickname caught him off guard. How long had it been since Naruto called him that?

"It's a damn mission!" Naruto continued, oblivious to Sasuke's distracted thinking. "You can't just refuse to go!"

"There's nothing that says you have to take a mission if you don't want to." He didn't want to take the mission—he couldn't leave now when things were so uncertain and new with Naruto. If he left and something happened, Naruto needed someone to talk to or someone else found him in that grocery store instead and took him home…

It wasn't as if there weren't others interested in the Hokage. Certainly, when he was a married man no one made their intentions clear but as a widowed husband Sasuke wasn't sure.

The guilt touched upon him again—how could he try and pretend like Naruto belonged to him? If anything, Naruto still belonged to her, and probably always would. Was it right to try and keep Naruto to himself when he didn't have a chance anyway?

"_I was sooo drunk last night, Sasuke! It was an accident, I swear!" _

"Why don't you send Hyuuga? I'm sure he could use something to distract him."

"Neji doesn't know a damned thing about snakes! That's the whole point of sending _you_!"

Sasuke spun around and cornered Naruto with a gaze. Blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Find me a mission in the village and I'll take it. Send Karin to deal with the snakes—she knows them better than I do anyway."

Naruto huffed, grumbling about insubordination and good-for-nothing assholes. Sasuke slipped his hands into his pockets, smirking to himself so Naruto couldn't see. After all this time and he could still piss Naruto off better than anyone—at least he could say that.

* * *

><p>After that, Sasuke was assigned shifts at the Hospital. He'd done it before, sometimes as requested and others in his spare time. He didn't assist with healing but spent time studying patients injured in unusual ways in battle. His experience with scientific study after all his time around Orochimaru and his knowledge of genjutsu were useful, as most of the patients that needed study were victims of genjutsu gone bad.<p>

He worked with Sakura mostly, which was fine with him. She had changed a lot since they were young and when she concentrated on her healing he could even come to respect her.

He didn't believe her crush on him ever really went away. He would still catch her staring at him times when she thought he wasn't looking, fixing her clothes or hair if they went out to eat or spent time together away from missions and work. He ignored it, because she had, at least, stopped fawning over him completely. She was herself around him, tough and serious, but with a smart, funny side that he appreciated. She was still one of the few people in the village who seemed to enjoy his company, and when he had stopped spending time with Naruto he spent time with her instead. They mostly talked about work, and he'd made sure she knew a long time ago to never expect anything romantic of him.

"So," she said, quickly moving a strand of hair out of her face and bending over the seal that had placed one of her patients in a coma, "you finally stopped avoiding Naruto."

"I was never—"

"Don't lie to me, Sasuke. I'm not the same idiot I used to be."

He huffed, scowling at the marks she'd already made on a scroll in an attempt to unseal the shinobi lying comatose in a hospital bed a few rooms away.

"This won't work," he pointed out a small mistake and her eyes flit over to the paper he had in front of him. "It will free his body of the seal's effects but not his mind. You missed it on the original seal."

"That's why you're helping me, and don't change the subject," she scolded, standing up straight and turning to him with fiercely narrowed green eyes.

He thought about what Kakashi asked and worried that Sakura would feel the same.

"_You aren't planning on involving yourself in Naruto's life again, are you?"_

"He's the one who's been hanging around me. He came over one night crying about how we weren't close anymore and he missed me, the idiot. He acts like I haven't been here."

She laughed darkly.

"Please, Sasuke, you already know how he'd be acting if you really weren't here. He'd come chasing after you until he brought you back, remember?"

He refused to answer her, staring down at the seal and hoping she would drop it. If only he were so lucky.

"And he's right, you know," she said, her tone somehow accusing and gentle at the same time. Sasuke just found it patronizing. "You were here but you weren't here for _him_. You weren't even at his _wedding_."

"I had a mission—"

"That you could have easily gotten out of! I know you won't tell me what happened between you two, but at least tell me it's finally getting better. At least tell me you're trying."

Sasuke's stomach clenched; she was angry at him for avoiding Naruto all these years, not angry that he was 'involving himself in Naruto's life again.' She probably just didn't want to be stuck between them anymore.

"Hinata died, Sakura. He came to me asking to be friends again. Do you really think I would have turned him away?"

"I don't know, Sasuke," she sighed, exasperated. "You weren't there when he needed you before—what makes this any different?"

_Because she's gone, and because he came to me, and because I missed him, too, and I didn't even realize it. _

"It's different. Trust me." He met her gaze and held it for a moment, but when she finally shrugged and looked towards the clock on the wall she still didn't seem convinced.

"I've got to go. We can finish this tomorrow—it's not like our patient is going anywhere."

"I could come over later tonight to work on it. We're almost finished."

She glanced at him over her shoulder, something appraising in her eyes. She was considering him.

"I'm babysitting Nori," she finally said, her expression shrewd and calculating, watching him carefully to see his reaction. She was used to him avoiding Naruto's son at all costs, knew that he never came over if Nori was there.

He blinked and turned towards the door.

"I'll see you at nine."

* * *

><p>"Sakura," he called, closing the door behind him and following the voices coming from Sakura's living room. He didn't bother knocking; she knew he was coming over.<p>

"—and then the lights went out and Dad said a bad word and he had to go somewhere and turn them back on again and it was dark, but it's okay because I'm not scared of the dark." Sasuke was surprised to hear Nori speaking so easily with Sakura; he was always surprised to hear Nori speaking easily simply because it never seemed to happen around him. He paused just outside of the living room to listen to Sakura's reply. She giggled and asked,

"You aren't scared of the dark anymore, Nori? I remember last time you were here you wanted me to leave the light on when you went to bed."

"That was because I was _alone_ in the dark!" he replied intently, voice high and piping. "I don't like that."

"Weren't you alone in your house when Naruto went to turn the lights back on?"

"No, all my friends were there. Shu told me I'm too old to be scared of the dark anymore."

"Who is—" Sakura started to ask, but Sasuke had had enough of waiting, she obviously hadn't heard him come in, and he stepped around the corner so she and Nori would know he was there.

"Oh, hello Sasuke," Sakura said, smiling. She turned to the child, whose eyes had gotten wide at the sight of the Uchiha. "Nori, you know Sasuke now, don't you?"

The child looked away, nodding. Sakura's eyebrows rose in surprise but Sasuke could have told her that would happen. No matter how many times he saw the child he was still afraid. Sasuke was trying not to take it personally but judging from the reactions of other people he was the only one Nori acted this way around.

He didn't think the child was warming up to him.

"Sasuke and I are going to work on some boring papers for a while—why don't you go get ready for bed?"

He looked at first as though he were going to reply, then just nodded and made his way down the hall to Sakura's room. Sasuke took a seat at the table across from Sakura and as soon as Nori was out of earshot she turned to him with an amused look and asked,

"Does he always act that way around you?"

Sasuke glared. She didn't have to point it out.

"Yes. And apparently it's only me."

She giggled.

"It's not funny. I don't—" he hesitated, sighing and looking away before adding unhappily, "I don't think he likes me."

Sakura, heartless as she was, only laughed harder and Sasuke couldn't help but feel it was directed at him more than the situation. When Sasuke finally turned back to look at her he was surprised to find how soft her expression was, somber and sad around the edges. She seemed like she was looking past him instead of at him. He understood when she finally murmured,

"I think Nori might take after his mother sometimes."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question. She smiled.

"Don't you remember how Hinata was? Oh well, you were gone for a long time."

He clenched his teeth; after all these years and it still stung when someone brought up his past like his life and his choices were some dirty mistake no one ever talked about.

"Hinata was always shy around Naruto. She was shy around everyone, but with Naruto she could barely talk to him. It's not a surprise you never noticed—you didn't really notice girls when we were young."

Sasuke stiffened at the insinuation, afraid to look up and see something knowing in Sakura's eyes. He'd heard of "women's intuition" and he couldn't risk Sakura guessing the truth; who knew what she would do if she knew?

"What does that have to do with Nori disliking me?" he snapped.

She rolled her eyes, as if he was the stupid one.

"She was shy around Naruto because she _liked_ him."

"_I think Nori might take after his mother sometimes." _Sasuke frowned.

"You think he likes me… so he's shy around me?"

She shrugged, pulling out the seal papers and spreading them on the table.

"He's always been quieter than other kids. Never shy like he is around you, but more… mature?"

Sasuke remembered that Sakura had known Nori much longer than he had. She'd babysat for him and spent time with him often when he was young. He was curious enough to ask her gently,

"Is he any different since the attack? Kakashi told me he saw the whole thing."

She continued looking down at the papers in front of her but her eyes hardened.

"Sometimes it seems like he's okay. We were talking normally when you got here. Other times he's…" She bit her lip, exhaling slowly. "He seems distracted. He stares at nothing and looks around the room like he's trying to—I don't know!"

"What?" he pressed, though Sakura seemed upset by the conversation. She glanced down the hall where Nori was still off getting ready for bed.

"He acts like he's looking for her, okay! And anyone can look at him and tell he's not sleeping."

Sasuke nodded. "I noticed that too." He wondered if she knew about the beasts. In fact, it hadn't occurred to him to ask if Naruto knew about the beasts inside his child's head. At first he thought of course Naruto knew—he was their guardian after all—but suddenly he wasn't sure.

"And I'm worried about Naruto, of course!" She blurted; Sasuke could tell she'd been holding it in. "He's still so young, to have to raise a child on his own… I know it isn't their fault but they were too young when they had Nori!"

"No one ever wanted something like this to happen to Naruto," Sasuke told her, and it was true. No matter how he felt about Naruto's wife's death he knew for sure he'd never wanted Naruto to be hurting so much.

He hadn't meant to upset Sakura with his questions, but he'd been worried about the child ever since the night he rescued him—and it wasn't only because Nori was Naruto's son. He was worried about Nori and wanted Nori to like him and was bothered because Nori wasn't sleeping and it wasn't about Naruto. He had spent so long avoiding Naruto's son because it hurt too much, but all it had taken were some tears and a frightened hug and Sasuke was caught. He couldn't help it.

Naruto's son had probably inherited his father's special power: he could make anyone fall for him.

"You know," he said, amazed that for once it was up to him to break the tension, "he doesn't even like ramen. Are we sure he's really Naruto's child?"

Even Sakura was surprised, looking up at him as he smiled faintly at her. After a moment she smiled back.

"He may not love ramen like his father, but he's _exactly_ like Naruto when it comes to what he likes."

"And what is that?" He asked, genuinely curious. He remembered how excited Nori had been, first with Naruto and then with Iruka—could that be to what Sakura was referring?

Her grin spread and her expression turned giddy.

"You don't know about—?" she cut herself off, giggling. "No wonder he's shy around you!"

"What does he like?" Sasuke asked, annoyed by how secretive she was being. She shook her head.

"I think you'll need to find that out yourself, Uchiha."

"Sakura…"

"Noriii!" She called out in sing-song, standing and walking towards the bedroom. Sasuke huffed, annoyed that he was no closer to finding out what Nori liked than he had been before. Maybe if he knew he would be a step closer to getting Naruto's son to stop being so shy around him…

* * *

><p>"Does Nori like barbeque?"<p>

Naruto gave him a strange look.

"Uhhh, I think he likes barbeque okay? He's not as crazy about it as Choji or anything."

"Does he like animals?"

Sasuke didn't even have to look over to know Naruto was staring at him strangely again. He ignored it and continued making dinner.

"He likes your cat… he doesn't like frogs, though."

"Really?" Sasuke asked, amused. He ignored the incorrect statement about "his cat." _He didn't have a cat._

"No," Naruto pouted, shoulders falling. "He makes faces whenever we visit the Myoboku. I even gave him a stuffed toad when he was little and he never played with it!"

"He probably just doesn't want to get all warty like you."

"Who's warty?" Naruto shouted, and Sasuke smirked. "Better warty than slimy, snake-man!"

"Have you ever even touched a snake? They aren't slimy, idiot."

"Whatever, still creepy. Karin talked to the snakes by the way. You were right, she probably did a better job than you would have anyway. If you had gone you wouldn't have bothered trying to talk to them, just would have started glaring at them and stabbing all the ones who wouldn't do what you asked."

"I would have gotten the job done," Sasuke replied. "What else does Nori like?"

"I don't know," Naruto replied, throwing his shoulders up in a shrug. "Why do you wanna know what Nori likes anyway?"

"I just do. Don't worry about it, Naruto."

He glanced away from the stove to find Naruto staring at him suspiciously through narrowed eyes. He turned his back and added lightly,

"Does he like games?"

"I don't know, I mean…" he trailed off, sitting silently until Sasuke had to turn back to him to make sure he was still there. He was staring at the ground blankly and Sasuke's chest ached. He didn't want Naruto to look like that; He didn't want Naruto to be sad ever again. It was impractical, a foolish thought to have, but he couldn't help it. He was so hopelessly in love with the idiot he wanted irrational things, like for him to never be sad again, for him to suddenly stand up and kiss Sasuke in his kitchen again, for them to start again and Sasuke not to fuck it up this time.

"We used to play cards," he muttered. Sasuke didn't need to ask whom "we" referred to. It was in the slump of Naruto's shoulders, the clench of his fists. It was in the sorrowful expression on his face and the hushed tone of his voice. Sasuke wanted to kiss him—to make all the pain go away, even if it was only for a moment.

He turned back to the food.

"I have cards."

* * *

><p>They ended up playing go fish as they ate; it was Nori's favorite game. He avoided Sasuke's gaze and stuttered every time he asked Sasuke if he had a card, but when he won he smiled and something in Sasuke's chest felt warm. He tried thinking about what Sakura had said, that maybe Nori was only shy around him because he liked him. It made Sasuke feel a bit better but he still wished Nori would open up around him, even just a little.<p>

Naruto lost almost every game and sulked. The cat was sitting between him and Nori and knocked Naruto's cards out of his hand with its tail two times.

"Oi, cat—" he threatened, glaring at the purring animal as its tail twitched in his face.

"His name is Muchi," Nori reminded him softly.

"Well his tail needs to calm down! I'm already getting destroyed by you two without dropping my cards all over the ground on top of it!"

"Maybe if you weren't so clumsy you wouldn't drop your cards," Sasuke smirked.

"Yeah, Dad!" Nori agreed, giggling.

"Don't side with him, Nori! Hmmmm, do you have any tens?"

"Go fish!"

"Awwww man! My own son!" Naruto groaned dramatically, reaching for the pile of cards in the center of the table. "First you side with the jerk over here and then you tell me to go fish! I guess you don't want to go out for dessert tonight…"

Sasuke heard a tiny gasp beside him and looked over to see Nori's eyes go wide. He shook his head quickly and Naruto grinned.

"Pleeeeease, Dad!" Nori whispered, bouncing up and down and holding his cards tight in his hands.

"Maaaybe if I win this round," Naruto answered, lifting his head.

"Cheating!" Sasuke hissed from the side of his mouth. Naruto peeked at him with one eye and stuck his tongue out.

Naruto actually did wind up winning that round and Nori decided they needed to leave after that. Sasuke kept hoping Naruto would say what dessert they were going to get—did Nori just love dessert so much? He probably had a favorite, like Naruto's favorite food was Ichiraku ramen.

When they started towards the door the cat meowed at them and Nori paused to pet him once. Sasuke leaned against the wall and hated how badly he wanted them to stay.

"Thanks for dinner again, Sasuke!" Naruto smiled, halfway out the door, Nori's hand in his.

_I love you._

"Hn. Next time I'm making you cook the rice."

He laughed.

"If you want to eat burnt rice then okay! Say bye, Nori."

"Bye-bye," Nori said without stuttering, though he still avoided Sasuke's gaze and pulled at the bottom of his jacket. Sasuke sighed and waved as they closed the door and he was left alone again.

"Mrrreowww!"

* * *

><p>"Sasuke, I'm going on a mission," Naruto said in his "hokage voice."<p>

The Uchiha still wasn't sure why he'd been called to the Hokage's office. He'd already been given a week off after the month he'd spent at the hospital with Sakura. It must have been an emergency mission for him to be called in, but Naruto seemed more nervous than he should be about sending Sasuke on a mission, even if it was a serious one.

"I didn't think the Hokage went on missions," Sasuke replied with a raised eyebrow. Naruto waved a hand at him.

"It's to Uzushiogakure. I'm meeting some builders who want to help construct a new village. Kakashi's coming with me, so the Old Hag will be in charge here."

"Am I coming with you as well, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked, and the formality made him cringe and remember that this was how he'd interacted with Naruto all those years they weren't close. He tried to relax, but Naruto still seemed strangely nervous.

"Uhhhmm, no," Naruto shook his head. "It's, um, the first time I'm leaving the village since…"

_Since she died_, Sasuke finished for him inside his head.

"I see," he said aloud. Naruto nodded, swallowing thickly.

"And, uh, Iruka is looking after Nori for most of the time—it's only 4 days! And Sakura said she would help out, but she's busy at the hospital, and Guy said he would watch Nori, but there's one day where Iruka and Sakura can't watch Nori, and I was, um, I was wondering, I mean, if it's too much trouble, I don't, um…"

Sasuke was shocked; he hadn't expected this. Naruto was asking him to watch Nori while he left the village for a mission—and he was nervous about it.

It hadn't been very long since they became real friends again. Things were still weird and uncomfortable some times; neither of them had mentioned _that night_ or why they'd spent over four years barely speaking. Naruto came over for dinner almost once a week and that was it. Sasuke still wasn't sure if Nori even _liked_ him.

"Are you sure, Naruto?" was the first thing he managed to say. He regretted it almost instantly because Naruto winced like he'd been hit.

"If you don't want to it's okay, Guy-sensei will be able to—"

"I'll do it," Sasuke affirmed quickly, nodding his head. Naruto's eyes widened and he slowly started smiling. "I have this week off anyway. Nori can spend time with… Muchi. He's been at my house much more often since you both started coming over."

"Really? Are you sure, Sasuke? If it's too much just let me—"

"I said I'd do it, didn't I?" Sasuke didn't know why his heart was beating so fast.

"Yeah… yeah! Thanks, Sasuke! I really didn't want to leave him with Guy-sensei. I'd come back and he'd have a bowl cut and a green jumpsuit and start shouting about youth every minute and I didn't want that to happen."

"Understandable."

"And you did say, the other day, you said," he looked at Sasuke from underneath his eyelashes, "you said if I needed anything to just ask."

Sasuke nodded. It wasn't really what Sasuke had been expecting, but he was glad Naruto trusted him so much with his son…

"_You're one of the only people I trust to bring him home safe."_

…though come to think of it, Naruto had always seemed to trust him with Nori.

* * *

><p>When the date of Sasuke's first babysitting experience arrived he was already feeling queasy and wishing more than ever that Naruto had just asked him to go on the mission to Uzushiogakure with him instead of asking him to look after his one and only child—a child who still, it seemed, was too afraid of him to say more than two words around him.<p>

He wished that Naruto had at least bestowed upon him the secret to winning Nori's affections, the mysterious thing he liked that everyone but him seemed clued in to.

"_Sakura is watching him the day before you are so you can just pick him up from her house. She'll tell you what to do, but there isn't that much you need to know. Nori's easy—he never whines or cries or anything!" _

So he was on his way to Sakura's house, trying not to panic about having to find some way to pass the next 24 hours with a child who barely speaks to him. It was going to be a long night.

He arrived at Sakura's house right at the time Naruto told him, once again not being bothered to knock. He shuffled the plastic bag he had in one hand behind his back; Sakura would only make fun of him if she knew he'd gone out and bought Nori a present. He already felt like he was trying too hard and he didn't need her laughter to confirm it.

He found the two of them when he went into the kitchen; Sakura was bent down and fastening a strap on a small backpack slung over Nori's shoulders. He was wearing his usual outfit, and orange jacket and pants with a green stripe in the middle and on the sides. The orange of his jacket wasn't as bright as Naruto's but Sasuke was sure he had been the one to pick it out. Underneath the jacket he wore a simple green t-shirt with a yin-yang symbol on the back.

"Ah, Sasuke, there you are," Sakura said, zipping Nori's jacket up all the way and pushing his bangs out of his face as he tried frantically to tug on the bottom of the jacket and look anywhere in the room except for Sasuke. She lifted his chin to look into his empty eyes—he wondered how long it had taken her to get used to them—and questioned gently,

"Ok Nori, you know you're going to be with Sasuke tonight, right?"

The child nodded almost imperceptibly. He looked like he would rather be with anyone else.

"Your dad told you to be good, didn't he?"

Nori nodded and Sasuke wished he could have heard what Naruto had said to his son about him. Naruto had seemed strangely nervous about asking Sasuke to watch the child.

Sasuke thought Sakura was finished and was about to turn to him and tell him anything he needed to know, like a bedtime or not to give Nori anything sweet before dinner or something, but she smiled at the boy and continued,

"Now, I know Sasuke is very scary and you don't know him very well because he's a stubborn jerk who wasn't around much before now, but I think you should give him a chance, okay?"

The child's eyes widened and he nodded slowly. Sasuke's mouth twisted into an annoyed scowl. He crossed his arms and waited impatiently, still trying to hide his present from Sakura.

"Promise?"

Another nod, more confident this time, and before Sasuke knew what was happening Sakura had lifted the child into the air, backpack and all, and was slinging him into Sasuke's arms. Both Nori and Sasuke were surprised but luckily Sasuke managed to catch the child before he dropped and Nori had enough sense to grab Sasuke's shoulders to steady himself before he toppled backwards from the weight of his pack.

"Sakura!" Sasuke hissed, unsure what to do with the stiff, blushing child in his arms. He wasn't very heavy, but Sasuke hadn't been prepared for being so close to the kid, to feel his warmth sinking through his clothes. He'd never noticed before, but the kid smelled like wind through the grass, and something sweet and warm that was so familiar Sasuke couldn't help but put a name to it.

_He smells like Naruto_.

"Well, have a good night, guys!" Sakura beamed, practically pushing them towards the door. "Try to get him to sleep by 8, if you can. Don't let him talk you into telling a bedtime story because you'll be up for hours. He likes action movies and making funny faces and he gets distracted easily."

"Sakura, hold on—" Sasuke tried to slow her down but they were at the door. Nori's hands were holding tight to his shirt to keep from slipping. The present was almost falling out of his hand as he hoisted the boy up on the side of his hip to try and get more balance. Sakura wasn't listening to him.

"Ask _him_ if you want to know something. He usually answers pretty honestly. Oh, and on your way home you should probably go through the intersection just past the Academy."

"Why—"

"Have a good night!" she grinned, and closed the door in their faces.

They stood there for a moment until Sasuke managed to remember the child he was now responsible for in his arms and cleared his throat. He tried glancing down to make eye contact with the boy but Nori was determinedly looking towards the ground. Sasuke held back a sigh and muttered,

"I'm going to put you down for a minute, okay?"

The child hummed consent and nodded, and Sasuke carefully placed him on the ground. He straightened his shirt and stood on Sakura's doorstep feeling lost.

"Are you hungry?"

Nori, who had been pulling on the bottom of his jacket, paused and bit his lip before nodding his head once again. Sasuke sighed; at least it was something. Then, tiny and nervous, he heard,

"Not ramen?"

Sasuke's eyebrows rose and then he smiled, offering his hand for Nori to hold as they started walking. The child took it after a moment's hesitation and something warm spread through Sasuke's chest at the feeling of the small hand in his. He figured this was probably why people had children.

"Not ramen," he promised, and thought he saw a small smile form on Nori's face before he looked up to lead them on their way.

* * *

><p>They ended up at a sushi bar around the corner from Sakura's house. It was small and quiet and they were seated at a booth in the corner.<p>

When they ordered Nori pointed to what he wanted on the menu and the waiter fawned over him. Once he realized who Sasuke was he seemed surprised, like he would have heard about it if Uchiha Sasuke had a child, especially one with such distinct Hyuga features. The man didn't say anything, to which Sasuke was grateful, just took his order and went back to the bar leaving Sasuke in the awkward booth with a shy child sitting silently across from him.

He took a careful sip of the tea they'd brought and tried to think of something, anything that would break the silence. He remembered his gift as he was fiddling with it in the seat next to him.

"I," he started carefully, wincing when the sound of his voice made Nori jump. "I got you something."

He handed over the bag and Nori gingerly took it, though to Sasuke it seemed like he only did because he'd been trained with good manners. The child opened it up timidly, slowly reaching in and pulling out the stuffed cat that Sasuke had bought at a convenience store earlier that day. He'd been passing it and saw the stuffed animals in the window. He was reminded of what Naruto had said about the stuffed frog that Nori didn't like. He found a black cat and bought it and as soon as he left the store the anxiety kicked in about whether or not Nori would even like it.

That anxiety had come back as soon as he'd handed over the bag, and he held his breath as Nori stared blankly at the cat and continued to say nothing.

"I heard you didn't like frogs," he added, to fill the silence. Nori blinked up at him quickly, and then turned back to the cat.

Then, much to Sasuke's surprise, his face turned red and he hid it by hugging the cat close and murmuring through the black fur,

"T—tank you."

Sasuke felt warm and had to look away.

"Don't mention it," he replied, and took a sip of tea. At least Nori seemed to like the gift.

The food arrived quickly and Nori set the cat on his lap to eat. As they ate, Sasuke noticed for the first time something Sakura had mentioned.

"_He gets distracted easily." _

One moment he would be eating his food and the next he was looking around at something, shaking his head and making a face. When he caught Sasuke watching him he snapped his attention back to his food, but he would look away again in a moment, seemingly distracted by something Sasuke couldn't even see. He wondered if it was something all 3 and half years olds did or was specific to the one in front of him.

The silence of the meal was tempting to drive Sasuke insane, as Nori continued to be too shy or afraid to actually say anything to Sasuke aside from thanking him for the present. Usually a silent meal would be Sasuke preference, but somehow with Nori sitting just across from him it seemed too quiet, like they were both just holding their breath to get through it. He couldn't stand it.

"I'm glad you like sushi," he said, and though Nori seemed surprised to hear him suddenly speaking, he didn't jump like the last time. Sasuke took it as a good sign and continued, though it felt strange and stinted for him to be the one trying to start conversation instead of someone—anyone—else.

"Sakura and Naru—your Dad," he correctly easily. It was still strange to think about Naruto as a _Dad_, even with his child sitting across from him. "They didn't like sushi when we were young. Naruto always talked everyone into going to Ichiraku."

He glanced at Nori and for a moment he had an expression that made it seem like he wanted to ask a question, but he held it in and looked down at his food instead. Sasuke didn't give up.

"I think that cat—" and paused and corrected himself again. "Muchi. I think Muchi has been looking for you lately."

That peaked the child's curiosity, and he held onto the cat plush with one hand and his food in another.

"He used to only come by every few weeks but lately he's been at my house almost every day. I think he likes you."

Still no reply, but Nori smiled slightly as he chewed. Sasuke almost felt like he was getting somewhere.

And so the meal went by and Sasuke continued talking, about he cat and about food and about Naruto. It was probably the most he had talked in years. At some point he didn't even mind that Nori didn't say anything back—his small smiles and surprised expressions were enough. By the time they paid and were walking out Sasuke was tired and his mouth felt overworked, but he thought it had gone okay. If he was honest, it had been better than he expected. Maybe he could learnt o get along with Naruto's son despite the child never talking to him after all.

They started towards Sasuke's house and Nori's hand was in his again, the other one clasped tight around the stuffed cat. They reached an a fork in the road and something about it reminded Sasuke of something else Sakura had said as she was pushing them out of the door.

_Oh, and on your way home you should probably go through the intersection just past the Academy."_

He paused, trying to reason why she would have hinted something as specific as which way they should go home. He didn't overthink it—Sakura was acting strange earlier anyway—but they veered to the left at the fork, the way that took them past the Academy.

Just past the Academy was an intersection with a few shops and restaurants. It was probably what Sakura had been referring to. Sasuke wasn't paying much attention as they moved through the semi-crowded streets and made their way through the shops. He would have kept going through all of them without a second thought until the hand holding onto his squeezed suddenly very tight and Nori slowed down almost to a stop.

Sasuke frowned and stopped along with him, turning to see what had caught the young boys attention. He found Nori frozen and staring with rapt attention off at one of the shops on the other side of the road. Sasuke followed his gaze and read the sign the same moment a hushed whisper came up from the child beside him,

"_Mochi_!"

* * *

><p><strong>I dunno if you noticed but this chapter is <em>long<em>. That's why it took me a while to finish. Also, sorry for focussing a lot on Nori, I know he's an OC and everything, but I wanted to get him to bond with Sasuke before the real SasuNaru stuff started happening. Hint: Nori is going to start really talking next chapter and he has a _lot_ to say! **

**I have the next chapter wayyy more planned out than this one so it should come sooner. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and followed the story!**


	5. Friends

CHAPTER FIVE: Friends

The sign was hand-painted and illuminated by two hanging lanterns on either side. It read:

_Mimis' Ice Cream Mochi!_

Sasuke turned back to the child holding onto his hand in a vice-grip. There was no doubt where his eyes were staring.

Sasuke had never noticed that particular establishment before—most likely because he didn't care for ice cream and had no reason to notice a place that served it. But Nori was enthralled. This was most likely the reason Sakura had wanted them to go a certain way home. Sasuke was grateful that she had finally decided to give him a hint towards the thing Nori liked, though why she couldn't have just told him he didn't know.

"Do you want some ice cream?" Sasuke asked gently. He'd never seen Nori act the way he was; it was no wonder everyone used this to sway him.

"Mochi," the child replied, nodding. Sasuke had never heard of mochi and ice cream together but it didn't matter. They made their way over to front of the shop. Nori was having a hard time keeping still, his hand practically vibrating in Sasuke's as they entered the building. Sasuke couldn't deny that there was something adorable about Nori's reactions.

The shop was very small, quaint. It must have been a few years old but the paint job inside was bubbly and cute with no signs of wear on any walls. It had no room for sitting inside, just enough to stand and order at the counter. The register was at one end and two older women were behind the counter ready to take orders. As soon as he and Nori walked in they both smiled wide and waved at the Hokage's young son.

"Look Mimi, it's our favorite customer!" The woman on the left said to her companion. The other woman responded quickly, and just as cheerfully,

"Oh, Mimi, I never get tired of seeing our Nori. Back again so soon, little sun?"

Sasuke smiled at the nickname, and let go of Nori's hand so he could race up to the glass and press his hands against it, bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Mimi!" Nori piped at the first woman and then turned to the other and repeated, "Mimi!"

Sasuke was beginning to suspect the women were both named Mimi, which would explain the odd typo on the sign. One was tall and had short grey hair and the other was short and round, with long purple hair in a bun on top of her head. They clearly knew Nori very well, which didn't surprise Sasuke much. If Nori visited _Mimis' Mochi_ anywhere near as often as Naruto did Ichiraku then the two old ladies may as well be family. He seemed almost as excited to see them as he was about his treat.

The second Mimi with the purple bun glanced up and noticed Sasuke, failing to hide the surprise on her face as she did. She elbowed the first Mimi who made the same expression when she looked up at Sasuke. They smiled at the same time.

"And you've brought someone new today, haven't you, little sun? Who is your friend?"

Sasuke was expected the stuttered, mumbling answer Nori usually gave whenever he was around Sasuke and was taken completely by surprise when Nori answered easily,

"That's Sasuke. He's a strong ninja and he's watching me because Dad is out of town and Sakura is busy and Iruka is busy and even Uncle Neji is busy."

Sasuke blinked, staring down at the child in front of him to make sure he hadn't lost the real Nori and this was some strange replacement who somehow wasn't afraid of talking in front of him.

"Well we know what mochi you want, little sun," the first Mimi grinned, "but what flavor does your new friend want?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to decline the offer but Nori surprised him again, turning around and settling his white eyes on Sasuke, asking clearly,

"What favor do you want? My favorite is geen tea but they have mango and chocolate and cookie ceam and bean and stawberry, too."

He stared at Sasuke expectantly, but Sasuke was so caught up in the fact that Nori was finally talking to him he had barely paid any attention. His chest felt tight and he blinked a few times before finally gathering himself enough to answer,

"…Green tea is fine…"

Both Mimi's smiled and moved at the same time, reaching into some coolers they had behind the counter and pulling out two green balls, just big enough to fit into Nori's small palms. Sasuke took his with a small bow in thanks to the taller Mimi who had given it to him. He started to pull out his wallet but the second Mimi stopped him quickly.

"No, no! Our Hokage's little sun always comes to our shop no charge. Please come again, Uchiha-san."

Nori was already waving goodbye and heading out the door when Sasuke noticed and followed him out. He was still trying to work out what had just happened. All through dinner Nori wouldn't say a word and yet in the mochi shop he'd spoken like it was no big deal. Had Sasuke really been panicking all this time for nothing?

He stared at the back of Nori's blond head as the shop door closed behind him. The boy was walking and happily eating his treat. It took Sasuke a lot longer than it should have to notice how cold his hand was. He looked down and remembered the mochi ice cream treat he'd been surprised into getting. He carefully took a small bite out of the side, pulling on the stretchy mochi layer and biting off a bit of the green tea ice cream on the inside. It tasted all right, but Sasuke wasn't nearly as interested in it as he was in the child walking in front of him. He wondered if Nori had only spoken so easily because he was excited to be getting his favorite food or if he would keep talking to Sasuke now that they were back on the road and it was only them again.

He watched as Nori quickly finished off the last of his mochi and licked his fingers clean of the sticky paste and ice cream. Once he was finished he turned back to Sasuke, eyes widened when he noticed how little of the ice cream Sasuke had eaten.

"You didn't finish yours!" he said, pointing, voice high and clear like a bird.

It still took Sasuke some time to believe it was really Nori who was pointing at him, but then he looked closer and saw the blush tinting the boys cheeks and the way his other hand was pulling on the bottom of his jacket absentmindedly. He smiled faintly and motioned to a nearby bench they were passing.

"You can have the rest and we can sit here while you finish so you don't have to walk and eat at the same time."

Nori's eyes widened as Sasuke handed him the snack—he looked as though he'd never gotten a better gift in the whole world. The bench was just a tad too high for Nori and Sasuke had to help him onto it. The black cat doll Sasuke had given him was settled in the child's lap as he ate the rest of Sasuke's mochi. Sasuke sat down beside him and took the time to watch the joyous expressions that crossed over the boy's face as he ate. He had never seen him look so happy.

"Why didn't you eat it?" Nori asked between bites, surprising Sasuke once again. He still wasn't expecting the sudden shift. He really liked hearing Nori's voice.

"I don't really like sweets," he answered truthfully. Nori frowned and took another bite. Once he had chewed it he asked,

"What do you like?"

"_I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I dislike a lot of things and I don't have many things that I like._"

"…I like fighting. And reading, sometimes."

The answer seemed to please the boy. He grinned and licked his fingers—Sasuke couldn't believe he ate the whole mochi that quickly.

"Dad likes fighting too!" he said. "Him and Uncle Neji fight sometimes."

Sasuke frowned but tried not to let Nori see. Something bothered him about the idea of Naruto and Neji sparring. He and Naruto used to spar and bicker and wrestle so often he felt like—

_He isn't _yours_, idiot. He can spar with whomever he wants_. The thoughts came without provocation, but it was true anyway. _You weren't around—he was bound to find someone new to fight with._

"You know," he said slowly, capturing Nori's attention easily, "Your Dad and I used to fight a lot."

"Really?" he asked, face scrunched up like he was trying to remember it. "When?"

"It was…" _A long time ago, in a different life when things were still good_, "…before you were born."

"Oh," the boy replied, fidgeting with the bottom of his jacket. It was starting to get loose threads hanging off; Hinata probably would have sewn it back to brand-new herself. She was surely that kind of wife.

Nori seemed to be thinking something over very hard. He glanced at Sasuke and then away several times, suddenly shy again. Finally he asked quietly,

"You and my Dad were best fends?"

Sasuke's heart jumped to his throat.

"What makes you say that?"

Nori shrugged, staring at the ground. He was quiet for a long time, so long Sasuke wondered if he should start them on their way home, but he waited instead because it seemed to him that Nori had something more to say. Finally the boy exhaled and curled his shoulders up around his ears, muttering low,

"Momma said you were best fends a long time ago."

Sasuke's heart stopped. It was bad enough that he'd made Nori think about his dead mother, but the idea that she had talked about him to Nori before she'd died—that she had made sure to tell him that Sasuke and his father had been best friends. It was more than Sasuke could stand. No matter how he tried he couldn't bring himself to hate Hinata Hyuga: and that only made everything so much worse.

He sighed deeply and stared back towards the mochi shop.

"She was right. We were best friends."

_Best friends and nothing more, because he fell in love with her and not me—and I can't even blame him. _

* * *

><p>They made their way back to Sasuke's apartment, Nori chatting the whole way. It was surreal, like something out of someone else's life. He kept wanting to ask Nori what had changed—why he had suddenly decided to start talking around Sasuke—but he didn't want to push his luck. He was curious, but he was more content to stay in the comfortable zone he was in now.<p>

He made a mental note to take Nori for mochi any time he was with him. Some strange part of him he had never noticed before hoped very much that he would be spending more time with the child.

Nori was delightful. Though his voice was softer he spoke with passion. His thoughts were scattered and jumbled but the ideas were clear and well thought-out. He didn't try to use words he didn't understand, but he understood many things that surprised Sasuke. He was still easily distracted, as Sakura had said, but he came back to himself quickly enough, even if Sasuke just murmured his name very softly. He would blush and pull at his jacket but continued with what he'd been saying before he got distracted in the first place.

It was expected, but Nori was very much not sleepy when they arrived at Sasuke's apartment around 7 in the evening. Certainly he looked tired, as he always did whenever Sasuke saw him, but he had a stubborn streak he must have inherited from his father that made him pout and shake his head when Sasuke asked him if he was ready for bed.

The cat was waiting for them as soon as they walked through the door.

"Muchi!" Nori chimed, and the cat replied with a long meow.

Sasuke frowned. He had sworn he shut his window before he left; how had the cat possibly gotten in?

"Do you want to feed him?" he asked, holding out the bag of cat food in question. Nori's expression lit up and he nodded—the image reminded him very much of Naruto. He let the boy pour the food into the small bowl he'd set aside for the intrusive animal. He poured a good deal more than Sasuke usually gave but he didn't say anything. As the cat ate the food Nori carefully pet gentle lines down his back; the stuffed cat Sasuke had given him was clutched in his other hand.

The cat flinched when Nori pet somewhere on it's left leg and Sasuke frowned.

"Tch," he exclaimed as Nori looked up at him curiously. "Another wound."

Every time the cat came by he had another one. Some were worse than others; the worst was probably the time he came in and a whole chunk of his ear was missing. The cat didn't even seem to notice it but the bleeding had bothered Sasuke enough that he held the cat down and carefully washed and dried the wound so it healed more cleanly. He kept a special clothe just for washing the cat's wounds and he stepped into the kitchen to retrieve it, coming back and motioning for Nori to hold the beast still as he patted the sensitive spot on its leg. When he pulled the cloth back there wasn't any blood, but some dirt came off and it was clear the wound was uncomfortable. Nori was staring intently at the cat, eyebrows furrowed in worried concentration.

"He gets into a lot of fights but he never tarts them."

"Oh really?" Sasuke asked, smiling faintly at the intensity with which Nori was watching as Sasuke tended to the injury.

The young boy nodded seriously.

"He's potecting the other cats. Like Dad does."

"Is he the cat Hokage?"

Another serious nod and Sasuke couldn't help but think that Nori was unfairly cute. When he and Naruto were together it was almost too much. Sasuke finished cleaning the wound but the cat was settled comfortably in Nori's lap and didn't seem to want to move.

"He uses his tail to fight! Like a whip!" Nori made whip motions with _Muchi's_ long black tail. The cat didn't bat an eye.

"If he's the… catkage—" Sasuke couldn't believe he had just said that, "—shouldn't he be off leading the cat village? What is he doing lying around my house?"

"He likes you," Nori replied with an easy shrug, blissfully unaware of how the simple statement sent Sasuke's heart racing.

_He means the cat, not Naruto_, he told himself. And yet he couldn't help but feel the warm flame of hope burning steady in his chest.

It was the first time a child had come to like Sasuke and he was glad somehow that it was Naruto's son. It made him feel closer to Naruto because Nori was a part of Naruto and always would be.

His face fell to a scowl. _Part of her, too, _he thought. _And always will be._

He saw the cat—Muchi—yawn from the corner of his eye and half a second later Nori was mimicking him, opening his mouth wide in a drawn-out yawn. His eyes and shoulders were drooping but Sasuke could tell he was still determined to stay awake. It seemed that though his body wanted and needed the sleep, Nori was the one deciding to stay up.

"Are you sure you aren't ready for bed?" he asked.

Nori shook his head, eyes widening. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and repeated,

"Are you sure?"

Nori's second headshake was interrupted by another sudden yawn. Sasuke grinned at the blush and way Nori looked shyly away, avoiding his gaze.

"Why don't you want to sleep?"

He wasn't sure the child was going to reply at first, he had buried his face in Muchi's fur with his determination to avoid Sasuke's knowing smile. But after a moment of quiet he mumbled through the fuzz,

"My fends keep me up."

"Your friends?" Sasuke frowned. Had he heard Nori say something about his friends before?

Big white eyes looked up at him, confused.

"You know," he replied, voice tiny and uncertain. He seemed nervous, pulling on the bottom of his jacket and hugging Muchi tight to his chest. He seemed more like the Nori Sasuke knew, the one who avoided his gaze and wouldn't say a thing to him.

"I know your friends?" Sasuke asked, trying not to make the blond more nervous than he was. Nori nodded.

In a second it clicked.

The beasts: they were still in Nori's head. No wonder he was having trouble sleeping.

He activated his sharingan and Nori gasped.

"_Scary eyes!" _he whispered and Sasuke flinched.

"Sorry…" he muttered, looking down. He didn't want to scare Nori into disliking him again.

"No!" Nori exclaimed, and Sasuke glanced up to see Nori's very serious face, eyebrows furrowed as he stared into Sasuke's red eyes. "Scary eyes are cool!"

"Cool?" Sasuke huffed, relieved.

"Yeah! Nobody has eyes like you!"

_Well, that's true…_

"May I?" He asked, to be polite. He couldn't get Nori's permission to go inside his head the last time but he felt bad forcing his way in. It felt like the old days, when he didn't care what he did or how it hurt other people.

Nori seemed to understand what he was asking and he nodded and closed his eyes. Sasuke smiled.

"You have to open your eyes," he said gently, and Nori blushed and opened them. In the next moment he was inside Nori's head again, with child standing beside him this time as the beasts around them all stared.

He glared at them—angry that they were causing Nori's insomnia—then felt a warm hand slide into his. He looked down in surprise to find Nori staring around him and his hand clasped lightly in Sasuke's.

"Uchiha again? Well I'll be damned!" It was the one tail speaking, the same beast that had insisted on killing whoever harmed Naruto's son, Sasuke remembered. Also the same monster that had been sealed inside Gaara and was responsible for turning him into the murderer he'd been in their chunin exams. Sasuke couldn't imagine what having a creature like him inside a child's mind would do.

"What have I said about cursing in front of Nori?" The six-tails admonished, shaking it's strangely gelatinous head.

"What is that red-eyed psycho doing here anyway?" the four-tails asked, leaning in and inspecting Sasuke closely.

"He's my fend!" Nori answered, calling up loudly to the figures around them. "Don't be mean!"

"I thought _we_ were your friends, Aonori," the three-tails joked in a voice similar to Nori's, soft and small.

"You are my fends, Iso! But Sasuke is too!"

Nori had said Sasuke's name aloud in the mochi shop but Sasuke hadn't been paying enough attention that time to notice how he'd pronounced it. He still wasn't used to hearing Nori's voice and hearing Nori say his name in his chipper little chirp was undeniably cute. He said it very carefully, enunciating the "ke" more firmly, like it was something he'd had to practice to get right.

"Sasuke," Nori said, as if on cue, and Sasuke turned to look at him expectantly. The boy smiled up at him and, once he knew he had the man's attention, continued, "these are my fends.

"Shu," he motioned to the one tail, who sneered in reply.

"Mata," the two tail, who bowed its head gracefully.

"Iso," the three tail, who nodded.

"Go," the four tail, still staring at Sasuke suspiciously.

"Ko," the five tail seemed to grin kindly at Nori.

"Ken," the six tail made no move.

"Cho," the seven tail nodded it's horned head vigorously

"Gyu," the eight tail tilted it's head at Sasuke, and Sasuke remembered suddenly the time he'd been sent to capture said beast. He hoped Nori never found out about that.

"Ku," he said, a little out of breath as he'd finally gotten to the ninth beast, the fox, who leered at Sasuke like he knew something Sasuke didn't. It wasn't an expression Sasuke liked to see very often.

"You gave them nicknames," he realized, looking back down at Nori. The boy nodded, grinning. He was certainly his father's son.

"I didn't know they were here afore. And I was scared of them until you showed me that they weren't scary."

"I did?" Sasuke asked. He didn't remember anything like that. He'd just come in and yelled at them all for letting their powers get so out of control.

Nori nodded.

"Now they're my fends! But they talk a lot sometimes. It's hard to ignore them."

"Is that why you haven't been sleeping?" Sasuke asked harshly, already preparing to use whatever power he had to shut down the beasts communication with the boy inside his head. But Nori's eyes widened and before he could answer the fox answered for him,

"We're not the ones keeping him up. Kid, did you tell the Uchiha we were keeping you awake?"

Nori looked away shyly, apparently caught in his lie. The fox shook his head and Sasuke frowned up at him.

"Why hasn't he been sleeping then? Whatever it is, it has to stop. He's exhausted. It's not good for him."

"No shit," the fox snarled. "We're with him all the time—we know it's not good. It's the nightmares, though. He can't get into a deep enough sleep without the nightmares waking him up again."

Sasuke understood then. Kakashi had confirmed his initials fears and now the beasts were telling him what he'd expected all along: Nori couldn't stop thinking about his mother's death. It wasn't as though Sasuke didn't understand. He'd relived his own parent's death in his mind more times than he could count. He'd had trouble sleeping, too, just after the massacre. In the end some medic nin had drugged him for his own good and he slept two days through. After that he trained himself to sleep at least halfway through the night. The nightmares never really went away; he just got better at ignoring them.

He didn't want the same thing for Nori. There had to be a better way.

"Cant any of you do something?"

"We've tried," the eight tails replied flatly. Sasuke sighed.

"You could help, you know," the nine tailed fox grinned his way. He shifted his gaze into those big, sharp eyes, hating how much the fox seemed to know about him.

"Sasuke, it's okay, I'm not sleepy," Nori said, something scared and panicked in his eyes. He didn't want to sleep—he knew that sleeping meant dreams. He was really very small, just on the edge of being a kid. He was still practically a toddler. Children need sleep. _Everyone_ needs sleep.

"I know you're sleepy, Nori," Sasuke explained, leaning down so he could talk to the child eye to eye.

"I'm not! I don't _wanna_ sleep!" He was on the verge of a real panic, his lower lip trembling and his face turning red.

"What if I told you I could help you sleep with no dreams?"

The boy was silent for a moment and then came the whisper soft question of,

"Really? No—no m—" he stopped himself, frightened, unable to go on. Though he didn't seem to realize he was doing it, Nori was calling up images in his mind, and since Sasuke was there as well he was getting glimpses. Rain and hands holding onto him and her voice calling his name and mud, so much mud, all over everything and everyone, in her hair and—

"No bad dreams," Sasuke promised, calling the child back from his own memories. Sasuke couldn't even bring himself to see those images and he had probably seen worse.

He cupped one hand gently to the side of Nori's face. His skin was soft and pale; cold, like the memories had sent him back there, back to that place. Sasuke would do whatever he could to help Nori escape those memories.

"Look into my eyes, okay?" Sasuke muttered gently, aware of the array of beasts still surrounding them and watching everything he did. He knew for a fact they would do anything to protect Nori, but he was confident that he would not be the one putting Nori in danger.

"Your scary eyes?" Nori asked.

"Yes," Sasuke smiled faintly, "my scary eyes."

Nori did as he was told and Sasuke concentrated enough chakra for a simple sleep genjutsu. Nori was out like a light. He would have no bad dreams this time.

As soon as he was sure Nori was asleep he turned to the beasts.

"I have some questions," he stated flatly.

The fox laughed the dark, chuckling laugh he always had. It was clear he was the leader of the chakra monsters.

"How long have you been inside his head?"

"We each gave him a part of our chakra when he turned one."

"Why?" Sasuke couldn't help but ask.

"We wanted to protect him," the two tails replied.

The others nodded their agreement.

"Does Naruto know about this?" Sasuke asked the question he was most curious about. Surely Naruto, the caretaker of all the beasts, knew that his son was carrying their chakras. It had probably been his idea; of course a father would do whatever he could to protect his son.

But when he looked around at the faces of the monsters the answer seemed pretty clear: Naruto had no idea.

"He doesn't know?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow. The fox wasn't looking so certain anymore, avoiding Sasuke's gaze and scratching one of his ears with a large clawed hand.

"We—we never told him," one of the beasts said, Sasuke didn't even know which.

"Don't you think he should know?"

"Yes, he should," the fox agreed. "You should tell him."

Sasuke exhaled deeply, uncomfortable under the gazes of all the beasts. More than just the fox were leering at him slyly now and he didn't appreciate it. Something about this felt wrong, settled badly in his gut.

"Nori does not belong to me," he said through clenched teeth. "This is not my problem."

"You didn't feel that way about his sleeping habits."

"It's different," he grunted, already readying himself to get out of the child's head. He would leave the beasts their free rein for now, but if it seemed like they were doing more harm than good to Nori he would find a way to seal them off more fully—back to whatever way they'd been before Nori's capture and panic released them.

It _was_ different, though. He wasn't heartless, couldn't ignore the child when his physical and mental health were in question, but that didn't mean he was a part of Nori's life. He was just watching the child as a favor for Naruto until he came back, that was all.

That was all he would ever be.

"Tell Naruto yourselves."

* * *

><p>Sasuke was sure to wake before Nori this time. He was sure it wasn't good babysitter etiquette to leave a child unsupervised in order to sleep in a few extra minutes. He already had a modest breakfast of oatmeal and fruit ready when Nori appeared in the kitchen doorway rubbing his eyes and yawning wide.<p>

"Did you sleep well?" he asked. He was confident that the genjutsu worked but it couldn't hurt to ask anyway.

"Yeah!" Nori nodded several times, clambering into a chair to sit at the kitchen table.

"No bad dreams?"

Nori shook his head.

"I had a dream about Muchi! He was a—a, ummm… a fighter cat? With amor! He beat the bad rats. He was protecting me."

"Really?" Sasuke smiled. He already knew the contents of Nori's dream; he'd made sure to add it as part of the genjutsu. It was nice that Nori seemed to like it.

They ate breakfast in relative silence. Sasuke still had a lot to learn about Nori and children in general. Nori tasted his oatmeal and made a face. Sasuke took that as a hint and added a spoonful of brown sugar to make it more palatable for a child with picky tastes. He couldn't peel his orange on his own and shyly asked Sasuke to help him. Even though he ate slowly and more carefully than Sasuke would have expected a child his age to eat he still wound up with a messy, juicy-covered face.

Sasuke found it oddly endearing. He couldn't help but imagine Naruto cleaning up his son after breakfast and his chest felt tight from the very idea. There was something about the idea of Naruto in a fathering role that affected Sasuke every time he considered it. He wasn't sure where those feelings came from but he didn't appreciate them. It only made everything that much harder.

By the time he had cleaned up breakfast and gotten Nori washed and dressed it was almost noon. He entered the living room to find Nori entertaining the cat with a piece of string.

"Your dad should be back in the village soon. I'm sure he will want to come pick you up first thing."

Sasuke was somewhat grateful the time had passed so quickly. He felt like he was just about running out of things to do with an untalkative three and a half year old.

He thought about the story Nori had told him the night before about the cat Hokage. He'd been surprised; it never occurred to him that children had imaginations so broad. It seemed like most of them just wanted to eat and run around screaming all the time. It was especially surprising given that Nori was _Naruto's_ child. Sasuke kept waiting for him to turn into the same kind of troublemaker his father was but it didn't seem likely. Nori was mild-tempered and sweet—probably more than even Sasuke was at his age.

Then again, Nori was an only child and had two loving parents for most of his life. There was no need for him to try so hard to get attention; he probably always had more than enough to go around.

"Oi, Sasuke! Nori!" Sasuke heard Naruto's voice from the front door. He hadn't bothered to knock; it was surprising to think about how close all of team seven was that none of them even bother to knock anymore, especially after everything that'd happened between them.

"Dad!" Nori cheered, hopping down from the couch to rush to the door. Sasuke smiled involuntarily, holding back a moment longer before following after the boy, hoping he would miss their initial reunion—it was sure to be painfully heartwarming.

Still when he peeked around the corner the sight that met him made his chest ache for something he never thought he wanted. Naruto had Nori balanced easily on his hip, grinning like the idiot he was and staring at his son like he was the reason the world turned. When he realized Sasuke was there he looked up with that same grin.

Sasuke couldn't believe it had been so long since he'd seen that expression directed towards him. How had he ever given it up? It seemed impossible now.

His memory focused, reminding him of the pain he'd been in when Naruto had announced he was marrying Hinata. Reminding him of the sudden desolation the moment Naruto told him that kiss had been one big mistake, just a drunken misunderstanding.

"Thanks for watching him, Sasuke! I owe you one!"

"No problem," he replied, trying not to drown in the past.

"Did you have fun, Aonori?" Naruto asked, his son still held easily on the edge of his hip. He didn't seem as tired as he had when he left, somehow. The mission must have gone well.

"Yeah! Yeah! Sasuke took me to get mochi!"

"Really? You must have been happy," Naruto teased. Nori nodded seriously. Sasuke was still glad he'd finally been given the secret to Nori's affection: some rice covered ice cream. If only it was that easy to win over everyone who didn't like him—not that he really cared about anyone else liking him.

"Yeah!" Nori continued, his small hands holding onto Naruto's jacket to keep his balance as he spoke up to his father's face. "And he didn't eat his because he doesn't like seets so I got to eat _two_ mochis!"

Naruto laughed, shaking his head. His good mood was infectious.

"Two mochis?" he said, laughing, "just wait until your Mom hears that you—"

Sasuke felt his heartbeat stop.

All of the air had been transported from the room leaving nothing but a choking vacuum in it's place. Sasuke's eyes found Naruto, frozen with his son on his hip, eyes wide and mouth half-open with the unfinished words he'd spoken.

"Naruto—" Sasuke started, hurting as if Naruto's pain were his own.

"Dad?" Nori asked in that birdsong-soft voice, tilting his head curiously. "Hey Dad, when is Mom coming back, anyway?"

* * *

><p><strong>Things are always worse than they seem, aren't they? Hopefully the next chapter will come sooner I've just been really busy! <strong>


	6. I Can't Do It!

**"Dad?" Nori asked in that birdsong-soft voice, tilting his head curiously. "Hey Dad, when is Mom coming back, anyway?"**

CHAPTER 6: I Can't Do It

And then Sasuke felt his heart break.

Not from the words Nori uttered, though they themselves reminded Sasuke so much of himself he almost couldn't bear it; because of the look on Naruto's face. His son's innocent question was like being cut with a dull blade, slowly in the most agonizing way possible. And Sasuke could do nothing but stand there and watch as Naruto's happiness drained from his eyes and he moved his mouth pointlessly, unable to speak as his son stared up at him, helpless and confused.

"I—she's," Naruto began, his voice like dust. A sob broke from his chest and it seemed to crush what little life was left in Sasuke. He couldn't stand to see Naruto in so much pain but he couldn't think of what to do. He was no help to him. He was useless, he was nothing.

"She—we talked about this, Nori, she's—I—"

"Naruto."

Sasuke was amazed at how calm his voice sounded but grateful that it was. He knew he would have to stay calm if he was to do anything to help Naruto now. The blond's chest was heaving, his eyes wide and shining, panic written in every line of his body when he turned at the sound of Sasuke's voice. It seemed to shake him partly out of the state he'd been in. He carefully let Nori down to the floor, eyes locked on Sasuke.

Sasuke reached out to him, not to take his hand to lead him but to show him that he was there.

"Nori, I need to talk to your dad alone for a minute, okay?" he said, voice somehow still even, still calm. It even seemed to calm Nori when he spoke to him as the child's confusion dimmed and he nodded. "Don't worry it's just a grown up conversation. Muchi should still be in the living room, you should go play with him."

Another nod and Nori went on his way. Sasuke let Naruto decide where he went, following him as the hokage made his way into the kitchen, walking like a man half-dead. He collapsed to the floor the moment Sasuke shut the door behind them.

"_What am I doing?"_

"Naruto, that wasn't your fault," Sasuke began, uncertain and just as lost as Naruto seemed to be. He didn't know what he was doing either but since he wasn't the one sobbing on the floor in the middle of a panic attack it was up to him to help the man who was.

"He's too young to realize what happened. You just forgot, that's all."

"How could I say that? H—how could I _forget_—?"

"She's only been gone for two months," Sasuke told him, maintaining his calm. He tried to imagine how Itachi would be in this moment, cool and collected. Even Kakashi was skilled in handling intense situations like this, never letting himself be caught up in the emotional aspects. Sasuke had to be like that for Naruto. He could tell instinctually that was what Naruto needed.

Naruto pulled on the collar of his shirt, hand fisting into the fabric as he struggled to maintain steady breath. Sasuke saw the way his chest heaved, inconsistent shallow breaths trying to reach his lungs. He wasn't worried about Naruto's safety but the image bothered him nonetheless. He didn't like to see Naruto in pain; he never ever had, not once. The blond sobbed, folding over and resting his head against the tile.

"For a minute everything just felt… right. I forgot. I forgot. I—"

"It's not your fault," Sasuke repeated. It was what Naruto needed to hear. But he wasn't sure the blond even heard him; he was still too trapped in his own head, berating himself for his simple mistake.

"—Nori was there and happy to see me and my mission went so well and then you were there smiling and Nori was talking to you and I just thought everything was finally the way it was always supposed to be, my son and my best friend and my wife and—"

Sasuke saw the image so clearly in his mind it might as well have been his own daydream: Naruto in his Hokage robes with Hinata standing just beside him holding their son… and Sasuke by his side, smiling with them as if nothing ever happened between them. It was Naruto's perfect life and as much as it hurt to imagine, as much as Sasuke knew it never could have been that way, something inside him wished Naruto could have had that. If anyone deserved to be that happy it was Naruto.

There was nothing he could say to that, so he stood there quietly in his kitchen and let Naruto break down. It seemed to be the only thing he could do and he was grateful that he could do even that.

They stayed that way for several minutes until Naruto finally sat up, face puffy and red and sad. He sighed, shoulder's bunched and expression beaten down and sorry.

"Sasuke," he said. "I'm falling apart."

"I know," Sasuke replied, unrepentantly blunt. Naruto flinched as though hit but he didn't respond angry.

"I can't fall apart. I'm supposed to be the one who keeps everything together! I'm the Hokage, I'm the leader of the village and I'm a—I'm a father. What's Nori supposed to do if his own stupid dad can't even keep it together? I _can't_ fall apart."

"I think you have to fall apart," was Sasuke's only answer. He wanted so badly to be there for Naruto, to be the reason Naruto smiled for once. He wanted to be able to give Naruto the life he thought for a moment he had before he realized that it had been stripped away but he couldn't have even ever given Naruto that much because he had stupidly gone and fallen in love with him and ruined everything before it even began. The least he could do was sit and listen to Naruto's problems and try to help the only way he knew how.

It was just like when Naruto had opened up about his wife's passing and the feelings of anger he had at the world; he opened up to Sasuke about his insecurities, he allowed himself to _feel_ in front of Sasuke, to trust that Sasuke wouldn't judge him or criticize his thoughts.

It was the first time Sasuke had ever really seen Naruto this way.

Maybe it was just because of all the years they spent as rivals but even in the short time they'd had as friends before _that night_, when Sasuke was in the village and he and Naruto reformed and strengthened the bond they'd always had, Naruto hadn't been as open with his emotions as he was now. Sasuke could understand why, since he would have never shown his true emotions in front of Naruto back then either. They were still in competition somehow, though there wasn't really anything left for them to be competing over. Sasuke never wanted to appear weak in front of Naruto; he didn't want to lose his respect and he knew Naruto must have felt the same way.

And yet their years apart changed something somehow. Naruto's trust in him was implicit though undeserved and Sasuke knew that if things were different, if he were the one hurting, he would feel just as comfortable expressing himself to Naruto as Naruto felt crying in front of him.

Perhaps it was just the intensity of the situation or maybe Naruto just didn't feel like he had anyone else, but Sasuke chose to believe Naruto was looking up at him that way because he trusted Sasuke to be there for him.

Sasuke wanted to be there for Naruto but he was conflicted. At the same time he wanted to wrap Naruto in a warm blanket and keep him safe so nothing bad happened to him again, he also wanted to hit him and tell him to grow up because the world wasn't fair, they were proof of that. And even though the second option seemed harsh he knew Naruto would just smile softly and nod. He was more accustomed to the harsh realities of life than any coddling Sasuke could give him so the choice was simple.

"You have to feel like you're falling apart or you won't be able to get back up and put yourself back together."

Naruto looked up at him and Sasuke expected him to make some joke about Sasuke's motivational speaker personality again but he just kept looking sad and lost and asked,

"Is that what you had to do?"

It hit Sasuke hard because yes, it was. But it was more than that, too. It was Naruto.

"I had some help. Someone knocked some sense into me before I fell too far. I could do the same for you if you want?"

He made a show of cracking his knuckles and flexing his arm. It barely got a smile, but even that was worth it.

"I don't think I need that, but thanks for offering to kick my ass," Naruto huffed. "I mean it though, Sasuke. I always thought if I could just get you to come back to the village I could do anything but I don't think I can do this. I don't know anything about being a parent! How am I supposed to protect the village and raise Nori alone? I'll never be enough for him. Hin—Hinata was everything to him—and to me—and I can't, I _can't_, I can't replace her. I don't know what to do I just—Uuuaaarrrgh!" He roared in frustration, hands fisted in his short hair.

"Hm," Sasuke said after waiting a moment after Naruto's outburst. He raised a dark eyebrow lazily. "I guess it really has been a while."

He tried his best to keep his voice and expression light and it seemed to work. Naruto glanced at him, brought momentarily from his state of panic. Sasuke didn't elaborate until Naruto inclined his head questioningly and then Sasuke just shrugged.

"I guess it has been a while since I've talked with you," he clarified, even though it stung a little to admit. "It must have been a while for you to change so much. I don't remember Naruto Uzumaki every saying he couldn't do something. What was your ninja way again? Never give up? Hm, you wouldn't know now with the way you're griping. What would Hinata say if she saw that you'd given up the nindo she shared with you—"

"Hey!"

"What?" he asked, challenging Naruto to stand up and scream at him, to get some fight back into those sad blue eyes and remind him that there were still things worth fighting for and believing in.

"Just because she's gone doesn't mean you should give up. You can't do it? You don't know how to raise a kid? It's too hard? Too bad. Go cry about it somewhere else, dead last."

It was quiet after that, and Naruto's eyes were wide. He looked as shocked as Sasuke hoped he would be. His heart was beating faster than he felt it should but maybe he was only nervous; it was a bit of a gamble to treat Naruto so roughly when they just barely were back on speaking terms again. He might react so badly he would want to cut Sasuke out again, realize that he was better off without Sasuke yelling at him or giving him a hard time.

Sasuke already knew that if that happened again, if Naruto made the choice to distance them himself this time, he would leave. But it was worth the risk to say the things Naruto needed to hear. He had a kid relying on him now—Naruto couldn't afford to doubt himself.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered, head towards the floor again. His back was curved and his shoulders hanging as if Sasuke could see the weight that was settled there.

"Thank you."

He looked up.

"Again," he added, gaze flickering back to the floor. "I'm relying on you too much."

"It's the least I can do, right? You saved me from myself once before."

Something crossed over Naruto's features. He glanced at Sasuke and away again, mumbling,

"That time…" he trialed off, and Sasuke's pulse quickened. What time was Naruto referring to? Could he mean to ask about _that _night?

"I—" he continued hesitantly, "I've always wondered what you really meant that time, when you—"

"_WWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH_" the cry came from the other room and was undoubtedly a shriek of pain from Nori. Both he and Naruto acted as fast as their shinobi training allowed them and found themselves in the room in seconds. Naruto rushed to his son's side without thinking and Sasuke surveyed the situation.

Nori had a scratch on his arm undeniably from cat claws and Sasuke was about to get rid of that black fleabag once and for all before he noticed that Muchi was on one side of the room hissing and batting at a white cat that Sasuke had never seen before.

"Shit," he cursed. Grabbing the white cat in a flash and holding tight to the scruff of it's neck, he quickly disposed of it outside, tossing it and watching as it landed upright on it's feet and hissed at him. He flashed his sharingan in its eyes and it scampered away. Hopefully it wouldn't return anytime soon. He would need to figure out how it had even gotten inside.

Upon returning to the living room he found Nori still sobbing, gasping in large gulps of air as Naruto tried to soon the scratch on his hand and calm his son with seemingly little result.

"Come on, Nori. You can stop crying it's okay the cat's gone. Come on, n—no, don't cry, it's not that bad, see? Nori, Nori, no, please stop crying. Stop crying—"

Naruto was panicking again, just like that. It was obvious he didn't want to see his son cry and nothing he said seemed to be reaching Nori. The cat's attack must have really surprised him for him to react so extremely. Sasuke felt like his heart was still beating from Nori's scream—he'd assumed the worst and panicked when he heard it and Nori wasn't even his child.

"_I want momma, I want momma, I want momma_," Nori gasped through his tears, yelling it right in Naruto's face.

"I know you do, Nori, but I—she's—Nori, please just stop crying, please—"

Sasuke felt something overtake him just like that and he sprung into action without even thinking about it. He went into the kitchen and wet a rag with warm water then returned to the living room and knelt to the floor, nudging Naruto to the side and ignoring the look of panicked surprise that crossed the blond's face.

He gently took Nori's injured hand in his—it was barely bleeding and couldn't have hurt very badly. It was probably the shock that had caused his reaction more than anything else. He pressed the warm clothe to Nori's hand as his choked sobs echoed in his ears.

"Nori," he said, voice even and soft. He wasn't sure where the tone of his voice even came from; he couldn't recall ever using it before but it felt like it came naturally all the same. Almost instantly Nori took a deep breath and his crying calmed to shuttered, heavy breathing.

He glanced up to find Nori staring at him with a tear-stained face and wide eyes. Sasuke could feel Naruto's eyes on him but he had to ignore it and focus on the child before him.

"There, it's not that bad," he murmured, lifting the rag so Nori could see the scratch.

"It hu—u—urt," the boy stammered, and hiccupped softly. Sasuke nodded and folded the rag over, using the clean side to gently wipe away the tears and snot that were covering the boys face. He tried to at least not _look_ grossed out by the kid bodily fluids as he cleaned Nori's face carefully. Once he was finished he looked into Nori's eyes again, making sure to maintain that same even, steady tone of voice as before when he asked,

"What did you learn?"

Nori took a moment before replying with a deep frown,

"White cats are _mean_!"

Sasuke smiled faintly but shook his head. Naruto eyes pouring into him made him feel like he was on a stage, like he was performing, and yet it didn't bother him and didn't stop him from doing what his instincts were telling him. Instincts that came to him from a place that should have been long forgotten in the past…

"_Oh, Sasuke! What happened?" Mikoto Uchiha knelt beside her youngest son and used the cloth in her pocket to stop the bleeding. She wrapped it around his injured fingers and held it up as Sasuke tried in vain to stifle his tears with repetitive sniffles. He refused to look in his mother's eyes but he knew what happened the moment she spotted the kunai lying on the floor beside him. She let out a small sigh._

"_What did we learn?" _

_He stubbornly refused to answer until she asked once again, serene and gentle._

"_What did we _learn_, Sasuke?" _

"…_don play with big brother's weapons…" He sniffed again and finally looked into his mother's kind face. "I—I jus wanted to try them! Brother said he would teach me how to use them but he's never here anymo!" _

_She smiled graciously, picking Sasuke up even though he thought he was too big to be picked up by his mom anymore, and carried him to get his wound fixed properly. _

"_Itachi will be home tonight and I'll tell him he should teach you how to use those kunai properly. But you won't try it by yourself again, right?" _

"_Yes, Momma." _

"What did you learn?" he repeated.

Nori bit his lip and looked down.

"…Not all cats are nice like Muchi…"

Sasuke nodded.

"So you should…?"

"Be careful 'round cats cause they could bite me or scratch me."

"Mhmm. Do you want a bandaid for that?"

Nori nodded shyly—and that was when Sasuke noticed them.

He didn't know how he hadn't seen them when he was washing Nori's face but suddenly they were there: two sets of whisker marks, very faint, on each of Nori's cheeks. Sasuke glanced down at the scratch that had been on Nori's arm and his suspicion was confirmed; it had vanished, just like Naruto's wounds did.

_Just pretend like you didn't notice_, he told himself. _They weren't there before and Naruto is sure to notice them on his own. He can ask that damn fox himself. It's not my problem. You didn't even notice they were there. _

"_You should tell him," _Kurama had said. He thought about how Nori had looked when Sasuke found him at the Dorogakure hideout, how terrifyingly powerful and out of control he'd been. Had he been close to losing control when he was injured just then? Was he so dangerous that Naruto _needed_ to know?

Nori was looking at him strangely and he shook himself, standing and walking towards the bathroom.

"One bandaid, coming up." _Not that he needs it. _

He retrieved the bandaid and placed it carefully on Nori's unblemished arm. As he did he tried getting a closer look at the marks on Nori's face. They were different from Naruto's whisker marks—two lines on each side instead of three, and they were fainter, not as bold as Naruto's. Something made Sasuke think that they would only becoming darker and more prominent as time went on.

_He'll notice them on his own. Leave it alone, Sasuke._

"Naruto," he said, turning towards Nori's father. Naruto was staring at him like he didn't know who he was; it was an unnerving expression for Sasuke to face.

"I have to tell you—"

"Hokage, sir."

It was a good thing so many years had passed since Sasuke had lived his life on the run as a wanted criminal. His instantaneous reactions to threats and attacks had dulled—had they not he would have already blasted a hole through Neji's chest at his sudden appearance. As it was, both he and Naruto had jumped the moment Neji appeared in the living room, turning and assuming slight fighting stances until they realized they weren't in any danger.

"I apologize for interrupting," he said, though Sasuke didn't think his tone very much matched the statement. He cast a lightning quick glance at the scene, Sasuke kneeling beside a bandaged Nori, and then turned his white gaze back to Naruto.

"The fifth Hokage is curious to know how the mission went. She's impatient as always."

Naruto seemed to come out of a daze, blinking at Neji and then rolling his eyes.

"Why is she always butting in? At least Kakashi lets me do my job without trying to give advice every three minutes. Did any of the other Hokage's have to deal with this?"

"None of the other Hokage's were as young as you," Neji reminded him, smiling softly. He turned his gaze to his almost-nephew who grinned wide and stood to walk over to him. Sasuke wondered whether Neji's sharp eyes would notice the new features of Nori's face.

"Uncle Neji!"

"Hello Aonori. What happened to your arm?"

"A bad cat scratch me! But Sasuke made it better."

Once again Neji's blank gaze flickered in his direction then away before Sasuke could get a real read on his expression.

"Did he now? That was nice of him, though he probably shouldn't have let a dangerous animal walk around his house if it was wild enough to scratch you in the first place."

Sasuke frowned. Nori started to launch into a long-winded explanation (it was hard to believe he barely spoke a word to Sasuke a day ago) of what really happened but Naruto cut him off.

"We should go report to the old hag and get it over with."

"Am I gonna come see Granny too?" Nori asked shyly. Naruto paused, considering it. He looked uncomfortable and Sasuke remembered his breakdown earlier, his lack of faith in his parenting skills.

"I think this might take some time, Nori. Do you want to stay with Uncle Neji until I'm done meeting with Tsunade?"

Nori glanced between his uncle and, to Sasuke's surprise, him. Then he looked down at the ground and pulled on the bottom of his sweater, mumbling whisper-soft,

"Can I stay here until after?"

Sasuke was surprised, though not enough to avoid noticing the definite scowl that fell to Neji's features when Nori spoke. Naruto seemed surprised too, looking almost shy himself as he made a questioning face in Sasuke's direction.

Sasuke simply nodded his agreement, and saw Naruto and Nori exhale together, somehow relieved that Sasuke would say yes. Sasuke was beginning to think something was wrong in the Uzumaki line—no one else tolerated, even liked, him as much as Naruto and now his son seemed to. It defied reason.

"Well, then," Naruto said, straightening and nodding to Neji. "I guess we'll go. Thanks for watching him, Sasuke. I'll be back to get him before dinner I think."

Naruto wasn't back until after dinner, as it happened.

He showed up at Sasuke's door like a walking sigh.

"Is everything alright?" Sasuke asked, concerned. It never seemed to be good when the Hokage looked tired. The last time he'd been as exhausted as he was now they had been going through the secret history of Konoha's conflicts between other villages. It had been broader and bloodier than they could have imagined and Naruto had to deal with it all. It was one of the few times Sasuke regretted the distance he made between Naruto and himself. The information seemed like the kind that was a burden best carried with help.

Naruto looked tired even when he smiled and shook his head.

"Just a lot of work to do. Sorry I'm late…"

"It's no problem. Nori had fried tofu and edamame for dinner."

Naruto made a whining sound from the back of his throat and slumped his shoulders in. "That sounds goooood."

"I can make some next week," Sasuke promised. A silence fell between them and Sasuke looked away. All day he'd been debating whether or not he should tell Naruto about the monsters in his son's head and he still hadn't conjured up the answer.

"Dad," Nori appeared behind Sasuke, raising his arms out so his father could wearily pick him and give him a quick hug before he set him back down on the ground and looked at him closely.

"Hey, what's that on your face?" he asked, and Sasuke tensed. But the next second the blond just grinned and pat Nori's head, standing up and shrugging lightly.

"Guess I never noticed them before. People are going to say you look even more like me now, huh, Aonori?"

The boy didn't seem to have any idea what his father was talking about but he was too little to bother worrying about it. Naruto seemed too tired to give it any further thought either—Sasuke couldn't help but be amazed at Naruto's idiocy. Amazed but not entirely surprised.

"Are you ready to go home? Is your backpack packed?"

Nori nodded his head twice and ran back inside to get the pack. Naruto heaved a deep sigh, and in the silence Sasuke almost just came out and told him.

"_Your son has all nine beasts in his head."_

But he didn't. Whether it was pity or denial or fear that held his tongue, Sasuke didn't know, but he kept quiet until Nori returned with his bag and father and son turned to go.

"See you soon, Sasuke! Thank you for everything!" Nori chimed, standing on his toes like it might make him louder.

Sasuke smiled softly and nodded.

"See you soon," Naruto mimicked his son, catching Sasuke's eyes and leaving him feeling heavy with a jumble of thoughts as he waved and croaked a dazed,

"Yeah."

He hated to admit how much it hurt to watch walk away from him.

* * *

><p>It was getting colder out lately, especially in the evenings. Naruto was glad he'd packed Nori's scarf, though looking at it only reminded him of Hinata. His son's bag was slung over his shoulder and Nori's small hand was held in his as they left Sasuke's house and made their way back to theirs. Naruto had to pay attention to where they went or they would end up back at their old house, the one that smelled like her and felt like home. There was a reason they'd had to leave it.<p>

"Hey Dad," Nori piped in his small voice. Naruto always thought everything about Nori was small; from the moment he'd laid eyes on the crying bundle in his wife's arms he felt like he had never seen anything to small and worthy of so much protection.

"Yeah?" he asked, glancing down at the top of Nori's blond head.

"Sasuke is cool and nice. I like him."

Naruto felt his hand tighten around his son's and his chest constrict.

"Me too," he answered. Sasuke really had been cool when he comforted Nori when he was crying. Naruto had only panicked but Sasuke knew just what to say. He really did know nothing about raising children…

"Why didn't we see him afore now?"

Naruto stopped walking and Nori paused just beside him.

He really didn't know anything about handling children on his own. Nori kept asking questions, he would _keep_ asking questions like this and Naruto was an idiot. He didn't know how to answer them.

But something told him it was better to try and tell at least some of the truth.

He leaned down so he could look into his son's pale eyes and placed his hands on his son's small shoulders.

"Because I loved your mother very much," he answered. Nori looked confused and Naruto couldn't blame him. He took a deep breath. It was time to man up and be a father; he couldn't mess around anymore or Hinata would never forgive him.

"Nori, you—you know your mom is—" he took a shaky breath in, "she's gone, you know? She can't come back. I'm sorry—I'm sorr—I wish I could change it and make it okay but it's just—she's gone and I—"

"Daddy," Nori's tiny voice caught him and he opened the eyes he didn't know he'd shut. "Dad it's okay you don't have to cry."

Naruto sobbed as his son reached tiny hands up to wipe at the tears that had fallen down his cheeks.

Hearing Nori call him Daddy only made him sob harder. Nori barely ever called him Daddy. It made him think about her…

_He'd come home late one evening and he was stressed and tired. Sasuke had been sent on a mission that day and he was always stressed when he sent Sasuke away on missions, anxious that this time maybe he just wouldn't come back. He had expected his wife and child to already be asleep when he arrived but when he opened the door he heard their laughter. _

"_Naruto, is that you?" she'd called out to him. "Are you home?" _

"_I'm home," he smiled at her as she turned the corner and raced over to him, surprising him by pulling on his sleeve to lead him back into the kitchen where Nori was seated in his highchair waiting for them. _

"_What's going on?" he'd asked, looking between his wife and their infant son. _

"_Dada!" Nori squealed and Naruto's eyes widened. Hinata giggled behind her hand. _

"_It's his first word!" she cheered. "He's been saying it all day. We were waiting for you to come home to show you, weren't we, Nori?" _

"_Dada!" he repeated, and Naruto's face split into an uncontained grin. Hinata slipped her hand into his as Nori kept repeating "dada" over and over and Naruto tried not to feel too overwhelmed with love. He was so grateful to Hinata because she had given him more love than he ever thought he would have. He finally had a family and he loved them. He loved them more than he could bear. _

And he loved her. He loved her. He loved her. He would have kept loving her forever he knew it but she was gone and all he really had to remember her by was their beautiful, gentle son who called him Daddy and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Daddy, don't cry. It's okay. Momma said it'll be okay. She said tank you."

Naruto couldn't breath but he looked into his son's eyes, full of strength and honesty and he listened.

"I know Momma is gone, Daddy. But she said—she said it'll be okay. That's what she said. And Momma said to tell Daddy tank you. That's what she said."

"She said," the words could barely come out of his mouth, "thank you?"

Nori nodded.

"She said tell Daddy tank you for me."

Naruto thought he'd cried himself dry but it turned out there were still more inside him. He wrapped his arms around Nori, pulling him in close and tight and sobbed into his son's shoulder. It didn't take long for Nori to start crying too and for his tiny hands to hold tight to the fabric of Naruto's shirt.

They stayed that way for probably longer than they should have, holding each other and sobbing in the cold for the woman they lost. Finally Naruto lifted Nori into his arms—the boy was exhausted—and carried him the rest of the way back to their home.

As he was tucking Nori into bed he couldn't help but stare at the beautiful child they had made together and be grateful to her. He would always be grateful to her and a part of him would always love her.

"Thank you, Hinata. For everything."

He wanted to go straight into his bedroom and fall asleep but he couldn't leave Nori's backpack lying on the floor of his bedroom or it would surely never be unpacked. He opened it carefully, surprised to find the first thing he pulled out was a plush of a cat he'd never seen before. He stared at it for a moment before setting it gently beside Nori on his bed.

He carefully took all of the clothes from Nori's bag and put them in the laundry pile, then made sure to put his toothbrush back in the bathroom and reminded himself with a nod in the direction of Hinata's shrine to make Nori brush extra next morning because he fell asleep before he did it tonight. He at least had to try to be enough of a parent, even if he felt like it was impossible.

Naruto was about to toss the pack to the back of the closet when he noticed that there was something still at the bottom of the bag. He reached in and carefully pulled out a black bento box. It had a note taped to the top that read:

_Learn to cook. _

_-Sasuke_

He opened it and inside was a neat little meal of rice, friend tofu and shelled edamame peas.

Maybe it was just because the day had been so long and he'd made so many mistakes, or maybe it was because he'd already cried like a little kid, but the sight of it made him want to cry all over again.

He ate the meal alone at the table and when he was finished he took the note from the lid and carefully stuck it to the front of the fridge. Then he headed off to sleep, knowing that, as usual, his dreams were bound to be about Sasuke Uchiha.


End file.
